Harry Potter and The Guardians of Magic
by luvenit12
Summary: REPOSTED! Charmed & Harry Potter Crossover Takes place during OotP-The Order and Harry are saved by three mysterious teenagers. Who are they? Why does the Golden Trio feel so close to them? Have they met before? How are they connected to the Charmed Ones?
1. Chapter 1: The First of Many Battles

Summary: Charmed and Harry Potter Crossover kind of. First story ever to be posted, so warning there :-P.

Takes place during OotP, but with a twist. The Order and Harry are saved by three mysterious teenagers. Who are they? Why does the Golden Trio feel so close to this other trio, especially Harry? And how are they connected to the Charmed ones? Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in for various surprises with this new trio who have been through as much suffering as anyone could imagine.

Follows the main Hp story, but will eventually take on its own course. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: ALL RIGHT BELONG TO J.K. ROWLING! AND THE CHARMED CHARACTERS BELONG TO WHOEVER CREATED THEM!

_Chapter 1: The First of Many Battles_

They flew over the city. Privet Drive becoming a single spec out of a million specs. The lights started to disappear into the atmosphere; they were over the ocean now. Harry could see Tonks, next to him, making invisible circles with her broom while the others stayed in formation. Mad-Eye Moody, at the front of the guard, was yelling various commands, mostly at Tonks, who in turn just did the opposite of each command, thus making Harry laugh. He felt so free being back in the air with people who actually cared about him instead of being trapped at Privet Drive with his supposed "family," but that wasn't the best part for Harry. The best part was knowing that he was on his way to see his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and his real family: his godfather, Sirius Black. For Harry, home was anywhere as long as he was with the people he loved, his family. No more chores, no more abuse, and no more Dursleys, at least for awhile. Harry smiled and when he looked up, his grin grew even bigger than it already was.

Flying in front of him, five of the Weasley clan and Hermione were waiting for the entourage of guards, sent to retrieve Harry from his misery in Privet Drive. When they reached each other, the Weasley twins, Fred and George, nodded happy faces to Harry and placed themselves behind Harry, while Hermione and Ron, sharing a broomstick because Hermione had a fear of flying, aligned with Harry. They gave Harry humongous grins. Then Arthur Weasley and the oldest of the Weasley sibling, Bill, filled in front of the Golden Trio. Half of the original guard flew away, leaving only Mad-Eye, Remus Lupin, and Tonks, to join the rest of the Weasley's, Hermione, and Harry. Mad-Eye placed himself between Arthur and Bill, while Lupin flew to the bottom of the new guard and Tonks on the top. They were flying peacefully over a thick forest when two red sparks flew at them, missing George and Mad-Eye's head by half an inch. The whole guard swerved at the voice of Moody's directions and crash landed in the forest below.

"Harry! Come on! We've been attacked! We've got to get out of here!"

Hermione's voice came from his side. Ron was trying to get Harry up and the rest were surrounding them, each telling the trio to run and commanding the twin Weasley's to Disapparate so that they can warn the Order. The twins fumbled to take out their wands and with the privilege of being able to use magic outside of Hogwarts by being 17, they Disapparated quickly, warning the Order about the attack on the Guard. Harry pushed himself off the ground and realized that while Ron tried to help him get up, Ron was the one with the injury, needing support to stand up straight. Ron's right leg was bleeding, not a lot, but Harry could tell that his friend's leg was broken or was punctured during the crash landing. He supported Ron and looked for Hermione, who in turn was gripping her left wrist. Harry stepped toward her, while supporting Ron, and was about to say something when Lupin's voice roared a command.

"Run! We'll hold them off!" yelled Lupin at the Trio. Hermione went to the other side of Ron and they ran, but not as fast as they hoped, not only because of Ron's injured leg, but because the darkness in the forest was so thick that they didn't know which way to go or if there was even a way out. They heard a yell and pretty soon Bill, Arthur, Tonks, Lupin, and Moody were grabbing them and started to run even faster. Bill was practically carrying Ron on his back and Hermione looked like she was about to faint while trying to keep up with Tonks and Mad-Eye, who for a man with a wooden stub for a foot was going incredibly fast. They were almost out of the darkness of the forest when a wall of trees grew in front of them, blocking the path to the outside world.

The Order members and the Golden Trio turned around to see ten, maybe more, Death Eaters with their wands at the ready. They were trapped. Harry could almost see the grins of the Death Eaters behind their masks. They all took out their own wands in turn, as the Order Members placed themselves slightly in front of the young Hogwarts students. Hermione and Ron were struggling to get their wands out because Ron was still on Bill's back, while Hermione moved gently so not to injure her wand hand as well as not to further injure her already sprained left wrist. After a few milliseconds, Ron was standing upright slightly covered by his older brother and his father, Hermione was concentrating and already ready to cast a spell from behind Tonks, while Harry was about to run past Lupin and Mad-Eye to cast the first spell. They were all in position: the war between Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters and Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix, in addition to prized students, was about to begin.

"I'm sorry to say, but I believe that there is no way out. Pity…" came the familiar voice of Lucius Malfoy, who was in the middle of the many Death Eaters.

1…. 2…. 3…. The blasts from the Death Eaters came continuously that the members of the Order could barely get a spell in. They were all ducking on the floor, trying to get some spells out, but then Harry felt the tip of a wand on his neck. Lucius Malfoy had his wand on Harry and all the spells had stopped. Harry got up from the ground slowly; thinking that he was done for.

Suddenly, bright flashes of light hit each of the Death Eaters and they were thrown back into the darkness. Three mysterious individuals, seemingly from the sky, landed in front of Harry, Hermione, Ron, and the Order, while the Death Eaters tried to regroup themselves from the spell. Lucius, as well as several other Death Eaters, stumbled to see who had attacked them so efficiently and saw a trio of what looked to be teenagers.

"Don't touch him… Unless you want to die tonight," said an American female voice. The voice came from a young lady standing in the middle of the trio, while her companions, another girl and a boy, stood ready for combat. The trio threw up their hands, creating little lights, and the Death Eaters, who were getting up from the last attack, were once again thrown back down by flashes of light. The trio then looked at the members of the Order, as if making a silent agreement, while Hermione and Ron got up from the ground and regrouped themselves. But Harry continued to stare at the girl in the middle of the other trio of teenagers. He had seen that face before, although he remembered her face to have a constant smile on it, but now there was no smile, not even a glint of a smile was shown on her face, as if she hadn't been smiling for a long time. He realized that he had met the other trio before, but he could not figure out where or when.

"Harry!" yelled Hermione. The rest of the Order, Ron and Hermione were all back on their brooms that they had summoned and were ready to take off, but were just waiting for Harry to mount his to be on their way. But Harry didn't move, instead he stepped closer to the young girl, who up close looked older than a teen.

"You've got to go, Harry. You can't play hero right now, so just go! We have no time for this," said the familiar young woman.

The Death Eaters were starting to get up again and were getting their wands ready for a battle.

"Harry!" called the voice of Remus Lupin, who like Harry could not remove his gaze from the young woman. Harry turned and ran to his broom, which already had Hermione on it, looking nauseated because of her fear of flying.

"Lia!!" yelled the young man, almost being hit by green sparks. The Death Eaters, who had recovered themselves, had started firing spells while the three of teens started to fend them off. They weren't using wands or words, Harry noticed, instead they were making many hand-arm movements. With a command from Moody, the Order members flew off with Ron, while Harry, Hermione, and Lupin remained.

"Go! Damn it! If you stay you'll be killed!" said the young woman called Lia and then added after making eye contact with Lupin, "We'll meet up with you later! Go!"

She then turned her back on them and waved her arms producing a fabulous white light aiming at three Death Eaters, and then joined in on the fight. Harry, Hermione, and Lupin kicked off of the ground and rose to the air, leaving the young trio to fight the Death Eaters on their own. They soared over the many lights of the on-going battle. But all they could think of was what would happen to the young trio who had just saved their lives if the Death Eaters prevailed.


	2. Chapter 2: The Charmed Ones

_Chapter 2: The Charmed Ones_

Harry with Hermione gripping him so tight behind him that it was hard to breathe, and Lupin landed at a street called Grimmauld Place, then got off of their brooms. Lupin explained to Harry the magic of 12 Grimmauld Place and then showed him the address. They then entered into the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, as well as the Noble House of Black, as a witch in a portrait started screaming bloody murder. Lupin led them straight to the kitchen and were greeted by all the Weasley's, except Charlie who was still in Romania and Percy who had a fallout with his father, Tonks, Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt who was part of the original guard that retrieved Harry, and lastly, Sirius Black. Harry hugged his godfather, holding on as if he would never let go, but when he did, he was attacked by Mrs. Weasley, who was quickly fixing up his, Hermione's, and Lupin's wounds. She then left to prepare food, so everyone started to sit down. Ron had found Harry and Hermione and sat next to them. Harry observed that Ron was walking, so assumed that Mrs. Weasley fixed up his leg, in addition to Hermione's wrist.

"What is this place?" asked Harry.

"This is where I grew up before I lived with your father, Harry. As I am sure you already know from my lovely mother's portrait, this is the House of Black," said Sirius bitterly as he sat next to his godson, "We use it as Head quarters for the Order of the Phoenix, about the only useful thing I've been able to do."

In about thirty minutes, Harry knew as much about the Order that he was allowed to know: that his parents were in it, Dumbledore founded it, and that Lord Voldemort was after something that he didn't have before. Harry was angry and frustrated. He would have liked to know all these things before hand, but he tried to be happy to at least be here instead of the alternative. He was home with his friends, Sirius, and with people that were practically, or is going to be, the only family he would ever know.

"What's wrong with Professor – I mean Remus? He looks upset," said the youngest Weasley, Ginny, who did a lot of growing up this summer.

At that moment, everyone's smiles disappeared and their laughter silenced, at least everyone who knew about the journey and the battle to Grimmauld Place. They felt guilty. Here they were laughing and enjoying each other's company, while three young adults could be dead after saving most of their lives.

Then suddenly a million little lights appeared at the kitchen door, revealing four witches, so it seemed, accompanied by a male wizard, but later found out that the man was magical but not a wizard.

"That's amazing!" said George.

"Much better than Apparating!" said Fred.

"What spell is that? And how can we learn it?" cried the twin Weasleys.

"You can't. Orbing isn't a spell; it's something you're born with. I'm a Whitelighter. It's a power given to you," said the gentleman, but at the twin's confused faces he continued, "I'm a healer like your St. Mungo people, but simpler. I'm also a guardian angel that protects witches in America and all over the world" — more confused looks — "It's hard to explain…"

The Whitelighter gave up on his explanation. His face was grim, as well as the faces of the four women surrounding him. George was about to say something when the witch nearest to the Whitelighter stepped forward to where Lupin was sitting and said in a fearful, but dangerous tone, "Where are they? What happened to them? Remus, where are my students?! Where are my kids?!"

"Piper, calm down. I'm sure their fine," said the Whitelighter, while stroking her back in the attempt to calm her.

"Leo, I can't calm down! I need to see them!" said Piper.

Harry noticed that they were wearing matching wedding bands and assumed that they were married. The three other women standing beside Piper and Leo, Harry realized were Piper's sisters. He remembered learning about them during his third year and from the Triwizard Tournament last school year. They had dropped by Lupin's classroom with a bunch of their students from Halliwell Magic School in San Francisco, CA and were the fourth school of magic that participated in the Triwizard Tournament. They were the Legendary Halliwell sisters, the Charmed Ones, the greatest witches in America that came from a long line of fabulous, but powerful witches.

Prudence Halliwell, who stood closest to Piper, was the eldest. Prue, as she was called, had the power of telekinesis and of astro-projection. Prue was the strong-headed sister, the stubborn one that always fought to protect her sisters. Piper on the other hand was passionate, but logical about things, finding strength from her loved ones. Piper was married to the Whitelighter, named Leo Wyatt, but retained her maiden name due to her powerful lineage. Piper had the power to destroy things or blowing up things, even people, in addition to her power to freeze things. Next is Phoebe, who for a while was the youngest sister until they found out about Paige. Phoebe is very intellectual and compassionate about others. She has the weakest powers of all the sisters, but her connection with people makes her stronger. Her powers: levitation, premonition, and empathy are many, but her compassion and connection with others makes her strong. And then there is Paige, the youngest Halliwell. Paige was half-Whitelighter, hence her Whitelighter powers, as well as the half sister. Although she is different, Paige provides guidance because that is who she is. The Charmed Ones, Harry remembered Professor Lupin explaining to his class, were the greatest witches in America, even the world. They are legends, but at this very moment that Harry sees them again, he can see their determination to find their students and why they were feared by many.

"Piper," sighed Lupin, "I don't know where they are. I haven't heard anything and am as worried as you are… If not more."

Piper was clenching her fists and was about to yell something at Lupin, but Phoebe, who stepped beside Piper, interjected instead.

"We're sorry, Remus," Phoebe said as she looked at her sister, "but we're just insanely worried."

"After everything those three have been through lately or even everything they've been through their whole lives, especially Lianna…. I just—" said Paige, fumbling with her hands. Prue touched her shoulders to calm her.

"We just want to know if their ok, if their safe," finished Prue for her youngest sister.

"And we understand, but right now all we can do is wait. Before Harry, Hermione and Remus arrived we got word from Albus. He is on his was here accompanied by Minerva and Snape, just in case—" said Sirius, but Piper interjected with a fury.

"Just in case what? Just in case he needs to inform us that we have to bury more students? Just in case they're dead?!"

"Piper!" cried Leo to his hysterical wife. Sirius was taken aback by Piper's words that he thought carefully over the next words he was about to say.

"No, Piper. They're coming to inform us, just in case we need to take any kind of action."

Piper shook her head and tried to calm down. She took in deep breaths and sat down at the large table without saying anything. It remained silent for a while, with only the sound of shifting feet and occasional noises from the sink cupboard.

"I promised that I'd take care of her. I promised Chris that she'll be ok…I promised Wyatt and all of them… Leo she has to be ok! They have to be ok!" cried Piper, subtle tears fell down her face and Harry could feel her shaking because he was practically right next to her. She folded her hands together and tried to relax. Leo sat down next to Piper and held her close, giving her a small kiss on her head. Soon Piper was crying. Slow, painful tears fell down her cheeks that any one in the room could feel her fear, as well as her love for the three students.

The rest of the Halliwell sisters crowed around Piper. Phoebe was on the verge of her own tears, Paige was crying, but Prue looked directly at Harry, as if he had all the answers. Harry was worried himself, but was unnerved at why Prue looked at him of all people. What did he do? Did Prue think that is was his fault that their students were in danger? So Harry tried to avoid her gaze, but then Prue held out her hand.

"I know that you're worried, too," stated Prue gently.

At her words, the attention shifted to Harry and the eldest Halliwell sister. Everyone looked at them and wondered how they knew each other, if they even knew each other. But Harry only knew Prudence Halliwell from what Professor Lupin told him and from what he observed while they visited Hogwarts during The Tournament. Harry was so confused at this moment, but he was worried about the teenage trio. He didn't know why he cared so much about them, but for some reason he did. So he reached out and took hold of Prue's, while Ron took Hermione's, who in turn reached for Harry's other hand.

They all sat in silence. No one said a word, not even the Weasley twins. They occasionally heard a few noises coming from the sink cupboard but other than that nothing was heard. Then a small heart appeared at the kitchen door. As the heart expanded and then disappeared, three men appeared in its place. Phoebe and Paige immediately moved away from their sister and rushed into the arms of the two tallest men, while the other went to Prue. Harry was about to ask someone who these men were when Hermione mouthed, "Their husbands," to him, and then he understood, kind of.

"Coop, did you find anything out?" said Phoebe to her husband, the tallest man in the room other than Kingsley Shackelbolt.

"No," sighed Coop, "I'm sorry but since the tragedy that happened, their love levels are barely determinable, making them very hard to find. Brooke and Lucas have very faint love levels, but I can't locate them and Lianna… well it seems she's given up on love."

"Hermione, what in the bloody hell is this guy talking about?" asked Ron quietly, but loud enough so that Harry could hear.

"My goodness Ron, do you ever pay attention in class?" said Hermione in a hushed tone.

"Yeah. I pay attention loads of times, why do think I'm asking? Because I'm paying attention to this conversation."

Harry had to hide his smile at Ron's comment. He saw Hermione roll her eyes and then told Ron that Coop was a cupid, one of the guardians of love. She then added quickly that Prue's husband, Andy, and Paige's husband, Henry, were muggles that worked in the Police Department and then gave Ron a "stop asking anymore questions look" when he opened his mouth again.

"How about you, Henry? Anything at the police station?" asked Paige, looking almost desperate for good news.

"No, honey. There's nothing. I filed a missing persons report on them, but my guess is… their not in San Francisco and no where near normal people, right Andy?" said Henry, while he stroked Paige's arm to try and comfort her.

"Yeah. I'm sorry ladies, but I even had the best FBI agents looking for them, but there were no clues so I called the search off because they were getting suspicious. You girls don't need anymore police attention on you," explained Andy, who was now holding both of Prue's hands, and looking as somber as everyone else.

"What else can we do?" cried Hermione, joining the conversation.

"Now all we can do is wait," said Lupin, "We need to wait to hear from Albus. We can't have anymore Muggles looking for them because they can't help us, they'll only be harmed. Thank you for all your help, Henry and Andy, but you don't have magic and this is a magical matter. Besides, you're under the deceitful Ministry of Magic while you're here, not under your –uh– "

"The Elders. They are our magical government," inputted Leo.

"Ah yes, Elders. They have no jurisdiction here in Europe, at least not over this matter. The Ministry of Magic is being corrupted with lies at the moment and will get us all killed. Anyways, all we can do is wait for Albus, he'll know what to do," finished Lupin.

"He's actually on his way right now," said Coop, "that's why we came here."

"Yeah, he sent an owl to the Manor so we rushed over here. Thought, maybe, that he has some news," added Henry.

"We left the Manor as soon as we read the letter. We thought he'd be here by now," said Andy, as Piper stood up and was about to say something, but Phoebe beat her to it.

"So where is he? Does he have them with him? Are the ok?" asked a panicked Phoebe.

"Shhh… Pheebs... Don't think like that. Not yet," said Paige as she touched her sister's arm gently.

Then the kitchen door swung open, revealing Severus Snape in his usual black cloak and signature sneer. He stared at the Halliwell family, who were blocking the door, and said one simple word, "Move." He said it very quietly, almost dangerously. Coop, Phoebe, Paige and Henry immediately moved to the side thinking that the three missing children would be walking in behind him. But as Snape strode in he was followed by Minerva McGonagall and the Albus Dumbledore. They entered in a rush, as if they had been in a battle themselves.


	3. Chapter 3: The Evidence

Chapter 3: The Evidence

Piper immediately got up from her seat at the table and looked directly at Dumbledore, searching for answers. But before she could say a word Dumbledore raised a hand, silencing her.

"They are safe," said Dumbledore.

The room was filled with immediate sighs of relief that George and Fred were about to make little jokes to lighten the mood. But while the room sighed, Piper remained somber, almost skeptical.

"Then where are they?" questioned Piper.

"Piper, he just said–" started Prue, but was immediately cut off by Piper.

"I know Prue. I heard him. But if they're safe, then where are they? You say they're safe. So, where? How do you know that they are safe? Don't," said Piper in a warning tone as Dumbledore was about to reply, "tell me that you just know or that some stupid birdie told you so 'cause that's not good enough! I want answers, Dumbledore. And everyone here seems to think you have all of them! So start answering my questions Oh Great Dumbledore!!"

Piper looked as if she could have killed someone. She was frustrated and furious. She wanted answers, yet Dumbledore remained silent. Piper took a deep breath and was about to retort something else when Dumbledore silenced her with a hand.

"Piper, I understand your concern, but the evidence is in this room," the silence in the room became deeper that not even the sink cupboard made any hint of a noise, so Dumbledore continued, "They are not here but the evidence is in this room. Minerva, Severus, and I went to help your three students but were ambushed when we arrived. By the time we reached the site of the battle, we found nothing. No Death Eaters. No Students. But–"

"THEN HOW THE HELL DO WE KNOW IF THEY'RE ALRIGHT?! I mean forgive me if I am wrong, but how is this helping?! They are three fifteen-year olds! THREE teenagers! They could be out there hurt or worse and no one can find them! This is bullshit!" cried Phoebe, who was almost in tears. "Yet here we are! Having a pointless conversation while they could be dead!"

"Ah but they are not dead are they?" said Dumbledore as he looked directly at Hermione, Ron, and Harry, who in turn looked at each other bewildered.

Hermione, Ron, and Harry froze. They were beyond confused by this point by the whole situation that they just started back at the Headmaster. Had they done something wrong to the other trio? Were they to blame for them being missing?

"No, you have done nothing wrong and no, Miss Granger, you have nothing on your face," said Dumbledore, as Hermione began to touch her face.

"Albus, what are you talking about?" asked Lupin.

"I am simply asking a question— to Miss Granger, Mister Weasley, and Mister Potter ONLY—" as Prue was about to interject a comment, "They are the only people I am speaking to at the moment," finished Dumbledore.

Paige shifted her weight on her feet. Then she started to move towards the Hogwarts Headmaster. But Snape stepped in between her and Dumbledore, stopping Paige in her tracks. The Potions teacher stared down at the youngest Charmed sister, who happened to be the Headmistress of Halliwell Magic School.

"Not another step," said Snape.

"What? You think I'm going to attack the old man?" said Paige, furry reflected in her eyes.

"No. I si—"

"Good! If there is anyone dangerous enough to do that to Albus, then you should look in the mirror Snape! Because by my calculations you have a history! And I believe that you're the only untrustworthy person in here!" spat Paige to the Potions teacher. By this time, Henry had grabbed hold of his wife's arms in the attempt to prevent her from doing magical harm to anyone, at least to prevent her hands from taking aim.

"You have no idea what you're speaking of. So shut your filthy little mouth!" said Snape, dangerously pointing his wand to Paige's face.

"HEY! DON'T POINT THAT THING AT MY WIFE!" yelled Henry at Snape,

But Paige was unfazed. She looked at an empty chair, released on of her arms from Henry, yelled "chair" and swung her hand at the chair, then towards Snape. The chair, surrounded by little white lights, flew through the air and was about to collide with Snape's face when it suddenly froze. Snape and the chair were frozen, while everyone else looked at the scene in awe.

"Wicked!!!" said the Weasley twins to themselves, although some people heard.

"Paige… you can't attack him. He might know something," said Piper, who had her hands up in front of her with her fingers spread. Piper closed her eyes, sighed deeply, dropped her hands and then looked at Paige with solemn but understanding eyes.

"He deserves everything coming to him. If he—"started Paige.

"We know. But we can't let this get the better of us," finished Prue. She waved her hand at the hair, causing it to soar away from Snape's face (all the Hogwarts students frowned at this) and breaking in pieces as it collided with the wall. Piper then lifted her right hand to the area where Snape stood frozen and—

"Wait!" exclaimed Phoebe. She then levitated in front of Snape, ready to kick him in the head.

"Phoebe…" said Prue.

"Ugh… fine." So she lowered herself to the ground.

"I'll bet you 4 sickles that she hits him," said George.

"You're on," said Fred quietly to his twin.

Phoebe touched the ground and stepped back, but before Piper could unfreeze Snape, Phoebe punched Snape in the face which unfroze Snape. Snape covered his nose with his hands and bent over in pain. Fred handed his twin 4 sickles, while George nodded in accomplishment.

"You filthy little…" said Snape through his hands to Phoebe and Paige.

"Oh I seriously doubt that you want to continue that sentence," said Prue in a threatening tone,

"We already don't like you Severus, So don't give us a reason to kill you," said Piper dangerously. "Leo, can you please heal Severus' broken nose because I don't think Paige would want to do it."

"I will not be touched by a filthy—"

"Severus," said Dumbledore, warning Snape to remain silent. Leo stepped up to heal Snape's face but Dumbledore raised a hand and took out his own wand. With a wave, Snape's sneer could be seen normally, while his students enjoyed the whole confrontation between the Halliwells and Snape. If anything, Sirius and the students would have laughed out loud if Dumbledore wasn't there. But the little confrontation just caused more tension for the rest of the people in the room. No one had any clue where any of this was heading.

Dumbledore walked up to where the Golden Trio were sitting. They turned in their seats to face their Headmaster, fearful that they had done something. The Charmed Ones stepped closer to hear, as well as to understand what Albus Dumbledore was doing, while Snape stood in the corner of the room sneering.

"Now… Ladies first Miss Granger," said Dumbledore gently, "What is your thought on the matter?"

"M-m-my thought, Professor? But I—" said Hermione, but Dumbledore just nodded and looked at her through his half-moon spectacles. So she continued, "I think— I think they're alright. I just… Professor, I don't understand. I am only assuming and I-I… how does this help at all?"

"Just focus Miss Granger. Your instincts may be correct. Now, focus please. Close your eyes if it helps,"— Hermione closed her eyes to the Headmaster's voice— "Think about the moment the three students revealed themselves. They're just like you, Miss Granger: Students. You know them and interacted with them. They are your age and are your friends. Now focus on one of them. Just one. Not their face or their clothes just on the person and then tell us what it is you feel," finished Dumbledore.

"He's hurt and tired, but alright. The fight is over. He's in a lot of pain coming from his arm. I think his shoulder is dislocated. But… that doesn't seem the source of the pain… it seems to be something more— something deeper. But he's alright. He's separated from the others. He seems to be waiting for them…" Hermione opened her eyes. "I'm sorry, but that's all I can feel. It's odd. It was as if I was there with him, but that's not possible. It's all very confusing."

"You did well Miss Granger," said McGonagall, with an approving nod.

"She's talking about Lucas right? So he's ok? But where is he?" asked Phoebe, looking hopeful. Dumbledore nodded, but his attention was with Ron, who looked bewildered and nervous.

"Mr. Weasley. It is now your turn. You know what you must do. Will you please?" said Dumbledore to Ron who immediately closed his eyes. Ron had a confused look on his face and the he looked scared, that Harry wondered if Ron had fallen asleep and was having a nightmare about spiders. But then Ron's face went blank.

"She's cold and worried," said Ron.

Fred and George looked at their youngest brother in bewilderment. They turned to Harry who looked even more confused than before. Harry was about to open his mouth to speak, but was silenced by a stern look that McGonagall gave him.

"She's standing alone in… I think it's the forest. She seems fine, just a few cuts and bruises. But… she's sad. OH NO!!!" cried Ron.

"WHAT?! What is it, Ron? Is it Brooke? Or Lia? What the hell is going on?!" asked Paige, holding Henry's hand so tight that it was white, but Henry looked more concerned with everything else then his hand. Paige looked about ready to yell some more, but was silence by Dumbledore's gaze and Ron opening his eyes.

"She was attacked!! A Death Eater snuck up behind her and sent the Killing curse her way. I kept thinking 'Look out! Behind you!' and I think she heard me! She dodged it before it could hit her. Then she did some magnificent magic and the Death Eater was knock unconscious. It was brilliant! Then she whispered the word 'Forever' and appeared in a—a cemetery I think. She started walking and met up with Lucas? Is it? She healed his arm! Bloody brilliant! But she didn't feel brilliant… She looked down at a stone but I couldn't read it. She… She was crying…" said Ron.

"Excellent, Mr. Weasley! Excellent!" said Dumbledore with his eyes twinkling.

"I believe that was Miss Diggory, Albus," stated McGonagall.

"Yeah, it is. I think I know where they are," said Prue sadly.

"Wait…" cried Harry, "Diggory? But that's—"

"Oh shut up Potter! Very good! You're thinking! Now it's your turn and you need to focus! So shut you miserable—"but Snape halted in his rant when he felt a wand pointing at his neck.

"Do not insult my godson, Snape," said Sirius dangerously, "or else I really will be a criminal."

Snape looked at Sirius and then waved his hand for the process to continue. He was defeated, not to mention outnumbered, and he hated it. So Snape quietly placed himself away from the others and sneered at the lot of them.

"Now if you please, Mister Potter. You know what the instructions are, I believe. Yes?" Harry gave a curt nod to Professor McGonagall, who decided to ignore the whole Snape situation. "Now this may be a little different. You must be very careful with this one. Don't get too deep, Mr. Potter, she might…" stated McGonagall, but seemed to have trouble finishing.

"Just focus on the situation, Harry. Not anything else," inputted Piper, "She's very… delicate."

Harry nodded carefully, not really understanding. He looked towards the Charmed Ones with their worried faces and turned to see an encouraging smile on Sirius' face, as well as everyone else. He was afraid. What if something went wrong? What if he went too deep? But he had no choice. She saved him today. He owes her. So Harry closed his eyes and focused on the young woman that saved him. As soon as he closed his eyes, he felt a sudden pull and was filled with a rush of emotions. She was not in the forest anymore.

"She's standing in front of a house with a broken roof," said Harry calmly. But with that small comment realization blossomed into the faces of Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, Sirius, Lupin, and the Halliwell family. They knew where the young girl was.

"She's not crying though, but… I feel as if I know the place, like it's familiar— to her, I mean. She's in so much pain… I can't pinpoint it, but she isn't hurt physically. I-I-It's unbearable the pain she's feeling… There's so much loss…" At this point Harry's tone changed, as if he was Lia and allowing him to speak for her. "I cared too much… so suffer too much… This is too much for a fifteen-year old to deal with! It should have been me!! If he just knew… if he just knew I was there then… then everything would be different. I would be dead and so many people would still be alive…"

"Harry…" said Lupin, quietly and painfully, "you're getting to deep... try to focus on the circumstances."

Harry was panting from the emotion, but then his facial expression changed. He looked calmer. So he continued.

"She's leaving the house and is… I think she's flying. She's at the cemetery. She sees Lucas and Brooke, but she's stopping herself from walking any further. They look up and see her… or is it me? Brooke is wiping away her tears and they start walking over towards Lia. I think Lucas is saying something, but I can't hear it. I've seen them before…I just—" Harry opened his eyes, "They're here. They're at the Kitchen door."

Everyone was surprised that it did not register that Harry was looking directly at the kitchen door. So everyone turned to the door, as well. Some thought that this was just another one of Dumbledore's weird ways to distract people from a bad situation, while most hoped that it was true. And then there were the ones like Albus Dumbledore who knew the truth.

Suddenly, the kitchen door swung open.


	4. Chapter 4: The Confrontation

Chapter 4: The Confrontation

The three Magic School students walked through the kitchen door with tired faces. All their injuries had been healed and the battle with the Death Eaters over, at least for the time being. As they entered Grimmauld Place's kitchen they stared at the many faces of people they knew and did not know. The room was filled with so much tension already that, as soon as the trio of teenagers entered, the tension seemed beyond its boiling point.

"Hello!" said the twin Weasleys together in an attempt to lighten the mood. The other Hogwarts students snickered quietly, as well as Tonks, but everyone else was still on edge. Their grave and worried faces turned to stern glares, as everyone silently gazed at the young trio, but no one dared to move. Tensions were high and the Hogwarts students were about ready for the explosion of relief. But there were no welcome hugs or smiling faces in the kitchen, just blank and stern stares. The Dumbledore walked with meaning towards the newcomers, breaking the silence.

"Miss Granger—" Hermione got up from her seat and walked towards her Headmaster, "this is your guardian, Mr. Lucas Scott. He is intelligent and dependable, like you. He is a cousin of Luna Lovegood and will be your personal guardian from now on," said Dumbledore while Hermione and Lucas shook hands. Hermione was in awe. This was not what she expected at all. She looked into Lucas' tired eyes and then turned to her best friends, who were shell-shocked themselves. Yet, something seemed vaguely familiar about Mr. Lucas Scott.

"Wait a second," said Prue contemplatively, "How are they guardians to Ron, Hermione, and Harry? That isn't possible! They are only guardians to the kids of Magic School. This can't be right! Something is wrong with this picture!"

"Things change…" said Lucas, sighing while looking at his mentors and teachers, the Charmed Ones, with sad eyes.

"Nathan had a premonition and told the rest of them. They knew what needed to be done… Even if—

They just knew," said Brooke softly from behind Lucas.

"We had no choice," said Lianna sternly and staring directly into Dumbledore's eyes.

"You had no choice, Lianna?! You _always_ have a choice!" exclaimed Piper. She was clenching her fists, as if trying not to let her magic get out. "Like tonight! You had a choice whether to go or not! My God, Lia! If Chris was—"

"If Chris what Piper?" replied Lianna quietly, dangerously. "If he was alive? Don't you dare… Don't you dare use that bullshit with me! Because it's not going to work! What else you got, huh? What's the next thing you'll use, Piper? Oh wait let me help you with that! How about bringing up my parents? All fucking six of them! What, Piper? Can't say anything? Their dead! All of them! So what the hell do I do now?!"

Lianna was being held back by Lupin by this point. Everyone else in the room looked taken aback at Lianna's rant, but Piper was not done. Paige was already teary and everyone was trying to stop the argument from continuing. But nothing could be done. Emotions ran high and it seemed like everyone had been biting their tongue until tonight. The Halliwell clan knew that this argument had to be let loose that Paige cried into Henry's arms, while the others simply watched.

Piper, who was not amazingly tall even with heels on, walked up to her student and looked up at her brown eyes. No one stopped the confrontation. Lucas and Brooke headed to the kitchen table, exhausted from the goings on of the night. They sat and they watched. Concern was written all over their face, just like in everyone else's face, but they just watched. Lupin was still holding Lianna's arms and Sirius stood near Harry. Most of the people were sitting in their respective chairs, leaving Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, and the Halliwells standing in addition to Lupin and Sirius,

"Are you trying to hurt me, Lianna? It's not going to work because I'm already broken!" Piper's voice cracked, but it was fierce. "I have lost just as much as you have, especially in the last couple of months... I thought that we taught you better than to just go off and play hero!"

"Let go, Remus. LET GO! Get off me!" said Lianna as she squirmed out of Lupin's arms, "We didn't want to go tonight. We didn't want o be out there risking our lives because God knows we've been through enough! We didn't ask for any of this! We are still trying to recover and you think we wanted to play Superman and save everyone possible?! Believe me, Piper, if I could help it I would not have been in the forest tonight. Because if I had my way, I would be dead already, buried next to Chris away from all this shit!"

"Don't say that Lia!" cried Lupin, "You still have family and that family needs you. It needs you to be here, alive and well!"

"HA! What family, Remus? My brother? He doesn't know I exist! I'm his lifeline, yet he knows nothing about me! And every parent figure that I've had… Every parent that took me and loved me are dead! And the best part is you Remus! You're my godfather! But you're too busy saving the world with the Order and Dumbledore and Harry Potter that you don't even realize that maybe… just MAYBE your goddaughter needs you…"

"Lia, Remus has been worried sick—" said Sirius softly.

"Oh that I am sure of. But that is all he does for me! He worries! Even you, Sirius! After everything! All the both of you can do is worry!"

Lianna threw her hands in the air. The room was silent. Harry, like others, felt like he shouldn't be there for the confrontation, yet he also felt as if he was the actual reason for everyone's suffering, even his own. He remembered Cedric and Voldemort, knowing that Cedric was trying to be noble in attempting to save Harry. Cedric sacrificed his life for Harry. Then Harry remembered his parents. They had made the same sacrifice for their son. So he looked around the room at the people he loved and cared about and who cared about him. He couldn't help but feel guilty.

Lianna took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. She shook he head and turned towards Harry, who in turn thought that she was going to mangle him.

"Harry, I didn't mean to make you feel guilty. I'm sorry. Because if anything you're the only one in this room who might understand what I'm going through," she said gently. Harry was surprised. How did she know he was suffering too? What was she talking about? How could she know everything he'd been through? Harry was about to respond to her, but Dumbledore broke his silence.

"Lianna, please sit down. You must be exhausted," said Dumbledore smoothly, but his eyes were saying something else that no one but Lianna could understand. Her anger spurred back into her features. She was on the defensive again.

"Oh don't give me that bullshit Dumbledore! And don't you dare try anything unless you want to be banished to hell!" cried Lianna.

"I dare you to try," sneered Snape as he stepped towards Lianna. Snape had his wand at the ready in his hand and was staring threateningly at the young girl, Suddenly, Lianna started to move her hands in a half circle—

"LIANNA LILY STEVENS!" said Piper in a fit of anger, "If you even THINK of attempting a spell right now your powers will be binded."

"You can't do that, Piper. You wouldn't and you don't even have the right," said Lianna, looking at her mentor, brushing off the seemingly harmless threat.

"We have every right, Lia," said Phoebe, stepping next to Piper.

"As your teachers… and as your family," said Paige. She held up a small bottle filled with a shiny blue liquid, while a tear fell down her face.

Lucas and Brooke immediately got up from their seats, shocked. They walked to either side of Lianna, as if to protect her. Both looked at their friend, but Lianna's face was blank from shock and anger.

"Don't give us a reason, Lia," said Prue.

"Do it. I dare you," said Lianna with a small smirk, surprising everyone.

"No! Don't! Don't do it Piper!" cried Brooke, "If you bind her powers, she won't be able to get them back!"

"Let her do it, Brooke."

"No! Are flipping crazy right now?!" said Lucas as he tried to move Lianna to the side so he could block her, "You need your powers! You know that! Piper, she's just upset!"

"W e know…" said Piper quietly.

"But it's for her own good," aid Prue and with a wave of her hand Lucas and Brooke flew to the other side of the room, while Paige threw the small bottle of blue liquid straight at Lianna. She didn't move. She didn't blink. She didn't even flinch. She just had a small hint of a smile on her face.

"REDUCTO!"


	5. Chapter 5: Of Dreams and Memories

Chapter 5: Of Dreams and Memories

Almost everyone in the room was on their feet with their wands up, but Harry was the one who said the spell, destroying the small battle of blue potion. McGonagall waved her wand quickly in a circular motion, absorbing all the fluid and making the tiny shards of glass disappear before they could do any damage to anyone.

Harry felt the need to go to Lianna, to hold her hand and tell her that he'll protect her, but he couldn't figure out why. He had seen her before, but he does not remember ever interacting with her. He only caught glimpses of her and her friends before in his third year, so why does he feel so connected to her? There was a familiarity between him and this Lianna girl, as well as there was a familiarity between Harry, Ron and Hermione and this new trio of teenagers, he just couldn't pin point what it was.

"Molly, I think it is time for the children to go to bed and rest. They have had a long night and it is late," said Dumbledore very quietly, almost dangerously. Mrs. Weasley moved immediately, rushing to usher all of her children, with the addition of Harry and Hermione, to their respective rooms. There were plenty of protests, especially from Fred and George who kept using their magic to attempt to stay, stating that they were of age and should be allowed to act accordingly to what they wanted. But Mrs. Weasley would have none of it. Eventually, the Hogwarts students left the kitchen and entered the hallway, making it seem like they were going straight to bed. When Mrs. Weasley stopped watching the troop of students, they gathered at the top of the stairs, ready to spy at the top of the staircase. The four Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione listened carefully, but were not able to hear anything. They remained silent for a few more moments and still they heard nothing, so Fred and George brought out their Extendable Ears to listen in.

"Incompetent!" bellowed Snape's voice through the doorway, "Incompetent and foolish! Binding her powers! HA! Potter should have allowed the potion to take its effect so that all of this would be over!"

"It would not have helped the situation, Severus! They are not like the normal group of children that you teach at Hogwarts!" said McGonagall sternly.

"Oh of course not! We can't be normal because we are The Guardians! We have a responsibility to the whole damn world. That's what we do, so that is who we are… ALL WE ARE! And you know what? It's also our punishment! We need to save the world… no we MUST save the world, but guess what world! WE CAN'T EVEN SAVE OURSELVES!!" cried Brooke. Her voice was a mix of emotions, strained from exhaustion, anger and sadness. She sounded as if she had been fighting the same battle a million times, losing every time. Thus, silence came quickly. There was a bit of rustling of robes and footsteps, probably from Snape, but no one said a word. Until—

"Albus, we're sorry. We acted too rashly. We shouldn't have thrown the potion. We—" said Prue, carefully.

"You're quite right, Prudence, you shouldn't have, because if Harry didn't have the impulse of destroying the bottle we would all be vulnerable under Voldemort's hands," said Dumbledore, menacingly. "I thought I explained to you the importance of the students you have chosen, especially Lianna! Your selfish desires and power does not over power the matters at hand! Lives are at stake. Lives can be taken—"

"Lives have already been taken… without your help and without you even noticing, Dumbledore," said Lucas quietly to the Hogwarts Headmaster. "Innocent souls have already been robbed of their lives, while you sat in your office at Hogwarts… None of this matters anymore!"

"Of course it matters, Mr. Scott! There are still plenty of lives at stake!"

"Yet no one seems to care about our own well being, our sacrifices, and our losses. We've fought our battles! Plenty of them! This battle… this is your battle Dumbledore. Your war. It is not ours to fight in," said Lianna, fiercely.

"Lianna you cannot mean that. This war is more than just about the Dark Lord and the power he attains. It involves you and —" started McGonagall.

"This conversation is over. We are done talking," said Lucas determinedly.

The Hogwarts students heard a rustling of feet, so they all rushed from their places at the top of the staircase and ran to their respective rooms. They quickly changed, if they could, and hopped into bed, pretending to sleep until actual sleep came along. The visions of the evening floated to the back of their minds, allowing dreams and fantasies to fill their slumbering heads.

* * *

"_Students please give a warm welcome to the lovely students of Beauxbaton Academy in France," said Dumbledore in a dreamy, distant voice. Harry spotted Fleur Delacour among the many silk covered students of Beauxbatons, as well as their giant of a headmistress, Madame Maxime._

"_And now, please welcome our friends from The Durmstrang Institute in Bulgaria!"_

_Applauds were given all around the room. Harry also spotted Viktor Krum, as many excited Hogwarts students giggled and whispered. All the students' faces were filled with enthusiasm and excitement, especially Cedric's. _

_Wait. _

_Cedric? Harry stared at the young man sitting at the Hufflepuff table, clapping his hands jovially… a young man that he knew to be dead._

"_Settle down. Settle down. As you all know, this year Hogwarts will be host to the Triwizard Tournament which involves the three schools presented here today: Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, and Hogwarts. However, this year the Ministry has decided that we are to have four schools competing as opposed to the usual three. So if you al wouldl please join me in welcoming the gifted students of Halliwell Magic School, coming from The United States of America!" said Dumbledore excitedly, with enough twinkle in his eye to spark a broken vehicle. _

"_Halliwell Magic School?" asked Hermione, confused and shocked that she cannot recall anything about a Halliwell Magic School. _

"_Honestly! And you call yourself intelligent!" said Ron surprisingly, "You've heard of 'em, haven't you Harry?"_

"_Actually, no I haven't," said Harry, shocked that Ron knew something that Hermione didn't. _

"_Bloody hell! They are only the second best magic school in the world! Second only to Hogwarts, of course. They have the brightest, most skilled witches and wizards. I hear they're actually more advanced than most of the other magic schools, including Hogwarts," said Ron proudly, enjoying the attention given to him by his best friends._

_But before Ron could say anything more, the Great Hall suddenly went black with only the lights from the twinkling stars from the magical ceiling. Everyone went still, unsure whether to panic or to anticipate the unknown. _

_Then, white and blue swirling lights appeared in the front of the hall where the teachers sat. As the blue and white lights started to disappear, four women appeared all holding hands in front of the whole Great Hall._

"_The Charmed Ones!!" said many students (mainly ones that grew up in the Wizarding World), who obviously knew about Magic School._

_And then, as suddenly as when the lights went out, numerous things started to show up in various lights and colors. There were students, or at least they appeared to be students, on brooms making various pictures with their hands, resulting in various sparks and colors. There were also a couple of people riding flying horses, or leading flying unicorns and dragons. One student made water flow from the ceiling, yet no one was getting wet. It was a marvelous spectacle of magic that had everyone in awe._

"_This is amazing!" cried a flabbergasted Hermione. _

_And suddenly in the midst of the various displays of magic, there was a bright, white phoenix flying into the Great Hall landing in between the Charmed Ones, while the various students in the air parked their brooms, dragons, and unicorns standing as equals with their teachers for everyone to see in the front of the Great Hall._

_Then Harry saw it. Harry saw the three teenagers from the forest, smiling brightly next to seven other students at the front of the Great Hall. They stood proudly at the same level as the Charmed Ones, while the other Magic School student, who entered through the Great Hall doors, stood near the walls looking and smiling at the foreign students. What a spectacle they made that everyone was one their feet and cheering, but instead of joining in joy, Harry just starred from where he stood, trying to make sure he was looking at the right people. But there was no mistake. There they were: the trio from the forest… the trio of Magic School._

* * *

Silence filled the walls of Grimmauld Place as its inhabitants slept their fears away. No one moved. No one spoke, unless you count the quiet rumblings coming out of Ron Weasley's mouth, who was dreaming about spiders once again. But through the gentle night at the Noble House of Black, dreams of happiness and peace were tainted by dreams of fear, loss, and death. But as the dreamers slept and hoped for a better day, one remained awake.

Lianna Stevens sat at the windowsill of the room she shared with her two best friends, Lucas Scott and Brooke Diggory. Looking out at the night sky as it slowly grew brighter and brighter, Lianna had been thinking about the happenings of the previous night. Lucas and Brooke were fast asleep exhausted from everything that had happened, so Lianna just listened to Lucas' gentle snoring and Brooke's soft breathing while recollecting her thoughts.

She had not meant to lash out at the world, especially not at Piper. The Halliwells were the closest thing Lianna had to a family. No. Correction. They were her family. They raised her when she had lost each pair of adoptive parents and took her in when it was too dangerous for her to stay with Remus. The Halliwells gave her everything her real parents were unable to give: love, happiness, and strength. _My parents,_ thought Lianna sadly. They had died to save her yet everywhere she went death soon followed. It was like she was cursed to not have a real family, cursed to never find true happiness. But she found some peace with the Halliwells and at Magic School. Finally, she thought she could be happy and finally have a real family. But then everything went to hell like it always did whenever she found a hint of happiness.

"They don't know what I've been through," said Lianna to herself. "They can't even begin to understand what I've been through."

Last night was a mistake, Lianna knew that. She wasn't supposed to say so much or feel so much, but the anger she felt was justifiable. She had held it in for so long and so much has already been taken. The loss was already irreparable and the pain too great.

Lianna wrapped her arms around her legs and sat quietly on the windowsill. The night sky was slowly transforming into the morning sky that would be a new day. The sun was gently rising from beneath the shadows, blending the dark and the light colors of sky. _Today's going to be a beautiful day_, Lianna thought in her head, _even if everything is going to hell…_

Lianna's dark reddish black hair was spread around her shoulders in waves as she tightened her hold of her legs. She rested her chin in between her knees and a tear fell gently from her tired brown eyes. She cried silently, trying not to awaken her slumbering friends.

"I wish you were here watching the sunrise with me," whispered Lianna as tears started to flow down her face, "I wish we were all watching this together…"

She looked at her sleeping friends. Last night, they had transformed the three beds into one huge bed and placed themselves next to each other with Lucas in the middle. They didn't talk nor did they even attempt to. The aftermath of the binding potion combined with the anger and everything else that night exhausted them to the point where no words could be spoken. They had a challenging day so they just remained silent, thinking their own thoughts and trying to sleep. Brooke was sniffling quietly on the other side of Lucas as she faced the wall, while Lianna caught silent tears falling from Lucas' face as he stared at the ceiling. Lianna turned away from the site and listened carefully until she knew her friends had cried themselves to sleep.

Now here she was a few hours later watching their gentle breathes. Lianna looked out the window again and saw that the sky now had tints of pink, orange, yellow, and blue. It was beautiful. Lianna closed her eyes and thought back to a time when she was happier, a time when the sunrise brought joy instead of sadness.

* * *

"_Lia!!!" screamed Brooke._

_Lianna awoke with a start, she jumped up and looked around her, ready to fight any demon._

"_Hahaha! Who are you going to battle, Lia? A squirrel?" said a young man rolling with laughter on the grass. "I mean, do what you want, Love, but I doubt the squirrel will do you any harm! HAH! At least we know that Brooke's vocal chords are sound! Look how awake you are!!"_

_The young man was convulsing with laughter on the ground, holding his stomach while his dark brown hair moving with his every movement, attracting all sorts of leaves and grass pieces. _

"_Shut up, Chris!" said Lianna, recovering from being awoken so abruptly. "And stop laughing like a hyena! You're getting grass and leaves in your hair! For all you know there could be bugs living there now!"_

_Chris sat up and ran his hands through his hair continuously. He was still giggling when Lianna kneeled down next to him and helped him get all the debris out of his hair. _

"_Now my lady," said Chris as he held both of Lianna's hands, "If you are ready to let the world fend for itself for awhile, our friends are waiting for us at the top of the hill."_

"_Ha! Some prince charming! Wait till Piper find out that her son has no manners!" said Lianna as the pair got up and started walking towards the top of the hill. "No gentleman laughs at their dear fair lady! Besides, whose idea was it to stay up all night to watch the sunrise? I like my sleep you know!"_

"_It was my idea thank you very much!" said a sandy haired boy with a British accent named Jacob Malfoy, Jake for short. Chris and Lianna had reached the top of the hill and were met by eight other people. "And besides, you didn't even stay up all night! You slept halfway through!"_

"_Took you long enough!" said a light brown haired young woman, wearing a yellow summer dress and a smile that radiated in the dim light. She has just picked flowers, when she reached the top of the hill to chat. _

"_Now, now Hayley my dear," said the boy next to her, as he moved a stray hair from her face. "Lia sleeps for a living remember?"_

"_Ha Ha very funny Nathan! __But your dear Hayley was the one snoring if I remember correctly," said Lianna to the couple called Hayley and Nathan, while the rest of the group of friends laughed at the comment._

"_I DO NOT!" said Hayley incredulously, "Do I?"_

"_Uh yes you do! I should know! I'm your roommate," said the beautiful blonde haired Payton, who stood next to Jake. The group of friends laughed while Hayley stood, flabbergasted, with her arms crossed. Nathan, standing next to her, reassured her that it was a cute kind of snoring but at that comment, everyone immediately blew up into jolts of laughter again. _

"_Cute?! Nate, are you crazy?! Hayley snores like a bear in hibernation!" said the eldest of Piper Halliwell's children, Wyatt. As he said this, one of his hands held on to one of Brooke's and the other was on his belly as he tried to control himself. "No offense, of course Haylz."_

"_Alright! Alright! Everyone calm down!" said Brooke as she tied up her beautiful waves of blonde hair, "its ok Haylz, at least Nathan thinks it's cute! Now when Wyatt here snores it's like—"_

"_BABE!" said Wyatt incredulously to his girlfriend, who in turn just shrugged. The group of friends laughed some more._

"_Ok! So now that we have that out of our system! What exactly are we doing," said Melinda Halliwell with her dark brown hair. The youngest of Piper's children was wiping off tears from laughing and fixing her jean skirt, then looked around to her friends, as well as her two older brothers Wyatt and Chris. _

"_Yeah, Jake. This was your idea," said Lucas as he gently wiped a stray teardrop from Melinda's face with his thumb. He shook his head, making his hair fall perfectly like that cute Zac Efron look. _

"_Man… we gotta get different hairstyles bro," said Nathan to his twin brother. They didn't exactly look alike but they had the same hairstyle with the exception that Lucas' hair was blonde-ish and Nathan's was a medium kind of brown color. _

"_Yeah yeah I've heard that before. Go tell that to mom," stated Lucas to his little brother by two minutes. _

"_I like the way you look," said Hayley and Melinda together to their respective boyfriends. They turned to look at each other, laughed, and then gave each other high fives. _

"_Alright! Before we have anymore twin moments or anymore snoring/sleeping memory escapade things, please B. Please tell us what we are doing," said Payton to Jake while poking him in the stomach. Jake flinched. _

"_OK. One: that hurt," said Jake and Payton mouthed a sorry, "Two: Back in England, I used to watch sunrises all the time—"_

"_In that huge mansion of yours! Who wouldn't," relayed Lianna. Jake gave her the _don't insult me_ look and continued._

"_Sunrises were so beautiful back home, but I always watched them alone. Of course, I could have shared the sunrises with my parents or something but they were mostly too busy—"_

"_Doing what Malfoys do of course," whispered Chris into Lianna's ear. She snickered quietly. _

"_And then of course there were times when I brought Draco up a couple of times and we had some good brotherly moments, especially because I'm here and he's there in England half the time," said Jake talking to himself as he strayed from his point. "But for the most part I found myself watching sunrises alone… I guess I wanted them all to myself."_

"_How very… Malfoy of you, Jake!" said Wyatt as he clapped Jake on the back._

"_That's not what I meant!" replied Jake, smiling. "I left England as a boy and am barely there throughout the year! It's where I stay when I'm not here, but it is barely my home. I didn't really make any real friends because I always had to come back here. Draco and I had the other families that my parents associated with, but they were hardly my friends. They were more like… associates, actually. They were there to impress my dad, not to make nice with the Malfoy boys."_

"_Oh of course not, Jake! Malfoys don't play nice!" said Lianna gently to her friend. It had taken a long time for them to be the way they were, with Jake being so high in the Wizarding World and Lianna being the goddaughter of a werewolf. Not to mention, they absolutely hated each others guts before, but now they found peace, even friendship. _

"_Haha alright! The point is: no one was important enough to share the sunrises with me. No one but Draco. But then again he's my little brother and he's different. I found no one to share something so beautiful with, that is, until now."_

"_Aww! Look Jake's getting sappy! Someone needs to be recording this," cried Hayley._

"_Your father will disown you, man," said Chris as he shook Jake's hand. _

"_Very funny, but my family does have a heart. If they didn't we would still be hating each other or should I say, you would all be hating me and I learned that from them. But anyways, look at us! We're all here. Together like a family. Happy and loved… who would've thought?" finished Jake as he held onto Payton tighter._

"_Look! It's beautiful!" said Payton pointing towards the sky as it blended magnificent colors. Everyone turned towards the sky, while she kissed Jake's cheek as he held her from behind. "You did good, B. A little lengthy of an explanation, but very good."_

_Everyone stood at the top of the hill, each holding onto their significant other. They stared at the sky and thought about the friendships they had. They were ten different people. Ten different pasts with ten different attitudes. But they understood each other and it took them years to get to where they were that day. They knew they were all different, but they also knew the one thing that would be forever, even if the world ended: them. Their friendships were immensely deep and their love for one another endless. They were young, maybe too young to fall in love and to feel the way they did for one another, but they were an endless circle that no one can compete with. They fought the good fight despite their age and they constantly battled to see the good in the world, but they had each other through thick and thin. They complimented each other, no matter how different they were… _

* * *

Author's Note: Hope You Liked it. Please Review!! Next chapter will be up soon! thanx!


	6. Chapter 6: Bonds Remembered

Chapter 6: Bonds Remembered

"Wake up, mate," said Ron in a distant voice. "Harry! Wake Up!"

Harry fell off his bed. Tangled in his bed covers, Harry struggled free, but his every movement seemed to make it harder to untangle.

"Ron! Help me!" cried Harry in frustration. He couldn't see a thing except a red blur of hair across the room. "Ron!"

"I'm coming!" said Ron from behind Harry. "Alright I'm here. Blimey, Harry! You look like you're being eaten alive by blankets!"

Ron laughed while Harry grunted from his frustration.

"Harry… geeze. Stop moving!" said a female voice.

Harry's glasses were shoved onto his face and he realized that the female helping him was not a red head at all, nor did her head belong to a Weasley, but in Harry's defense, she was wearing a red blouse. With a swift movement of her hand, Prue Halliwell had the tangled covers off of Harry and folded neatly at the foot of his bed.

"Thanks," stated Harry, flushed from his battle with his own bed covers and embarrassed that this little endeavor of his was witnessed by someone as powerful as the eldest Halliwell.

"Yea thanks! That would have taken ages to get out of! Right mate?" said Ron unfazed in any way.

"Yea Ron it would've that's why I didn't need any help," said Harry sarcastically. Ron shrugged.

"I'm here for ya, mate!" replied Ron as he clapped Harry on the back.

Prue laughed at the two boys and went outside while they got dressed for breakfast. By the time the boys were ready, Fred and George were bombarding Prue with various questions that ranged from magic to American muggles to America itself. Prue was laughing genuinely when Ginny and Hermione joined in the little gathering.

"No guys, we have none of whatever the heck you're asking me. We're just normal witches," replied Prue jovially. It looked like she hadn't laughed in a long time so she was relishing in the few moments where she could have a good laugh.

"How come no one remembers Magic School's participation in the Triwizard Tournament? I mean, I don't remember it and I was a champion," said Harry suddenly recalling his dream. Or was it a memory?

Prue's smile faded instantly. She stared unblinkingly at Harry in disbelief. She was obviously shocked by the question.

"What do you mean Harry? Everyone knows we were there for a bit," said Prue looking straight into Harry's green eyes. "We were supposed to participate but had to pull out before it could start. But of course, we were there for such a short time, everyone probably forgot about us."

"Why'd you leave? I actually don't recall you being there at all, but all I know is that your entrance was unforgettable, so I had to ask," inquired Harry curiously. He barely remembered Magic School's magnificent entrance, let alone them even being at Hogwarts a few months ago, but his dream seemed so real.

"Well… that's a story for a different time. Molly made breakfast and has it ready for you all so head on over. She's in the kitchen," said Prue nonchalantly, though clearly avoiding Harry's question as best she could. "Go on now, go downstairs and have some breakfast."

The Hogwarts students turned to go down the steps and head toward the kitchen but Harry noticed that Prue turned to go the other way. She walked towards a room down the hall of Harry and Ron's room.

"Harry, come on," said Hermione as she touched Harry's arm gently. But even at her own words, Hermione didn't budge. The three fifth year students stayed where they were, watching Prue carefully.

"I guess, you can come," sighed Prue without turning around to even look at the young trio. "But you have to stay at the door."

The trio nodded to themselves and walked over to the closed wooden door, curious as to what they were about to witness. Prue knocked silently, listening for any movement from inside. When she heard nothing, she turned the knob slowly and peaked inside, leaving the door slightly ajar.

"Ok. Stay here—Actually, you know what? You all should just head downstairs," whispered Prue. "They're very… sensitive in the morning, especially after last night."

But the trio didn't move.

"They're naked. So go unless you want to see some skin," said Prue plainly and pointed towards the stairs.

The three students straightened out and walked towards the stairs immediately, while Prue opened the door fully. They turned around to look once more and could see a huge bed with a window sill nearby. They thought Prue was serious about the inhabitants being naked, but from what they could see the Halliwell students were completely dressed. They noticed a female was sleeping in the window sill, curled up in a ball and breathing softly. Harry then realized that the female in the window sill was Lianna with her wavy dark red hair spread across her shoulders. As soon as they looked, they couldn't help but gravitate back to the room, stopping at the threshold.

They found that Lucas and Brooke were sleeping next to each other on the bed and were still wearing the dirty clothes from last night's events. None of them had even washed their grimy faces. Prue was at the head of the bed when she looked up to see Ron, Hermione and Harry standing at the doorway. She shrugged and headed towards the window sill to Lianna.

"Lia," soothed Prue gently as she placed a hand on Lianna's shoulder, "It's time to wake up, sweetie."

Lianna stirred and opened her eyes slowly. Prue smiled at her and then moved to where the others lay resting. Slowly, but surely, Lucas, Brooke, and Lianna arose from their slumber, all showing evidence that they had shed some tears before they slept. Prue sat next to Brooke and rubbed her back, while Brooke grew more alert.

"You three should go eat," said Phoebe from behind Ron, Hermione and Harry. The Hogwarts students turned to find the rest of the Charmed sisters holding bags and staring directly at their students.

"RONALD WEASLEY!!!" came the voice of Molly Weasley from downstairs, causing the portrait of Sirius' mother to start yelling profanities and insults. Ron's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed an incredible red.

"We should go," he said in a high-pitched voice. The Charmed Ones tried not to smirk, but they couldn't help it. With Ron leading the way, the trio descended the steps, while the Charmed Ones entered the room. Harry was able to catch Lianna's eye before he started his descent and she returned his gaze with a small reassuring smile.

By the time the trio entered the kitchen, everyone was already seated and eating. Members of the Order came in and out every once in a while and Mrs. Weasley would fuss over them with food and drinks, as she did when Ron, Hermione and Harry had entered. She stated briefly to the young trio that their curiosity was quite rude and made them eat their breakfast, contrary to Ron trying to explain himself. Ron was about to comment some more until Hermione hushed him with a glare, while Harry giggled. They ate merrily while Tonks entertained the lot with her various "faces."

Harry had a terrible summer at the Dursleys, but now that he was with people he knew and loved, it seemed like his luck was going up. Of course, Harry still felt certain frustrations and was very curious about the happenings of the Wizarding World, but he couldn't help enjoying himself. The future, especially his own future, seemed so uncertain now that Voldemort was back that he felt he needed to cherish the small things like Hermione's smiles and Ron's laugh or Mrs. Weasley's hugs and Sirius' proud claps on his back. These little things helped him forget that he was a target during these troubled times and that others had died so that he may live. Harry was so caught up in the moment that he slightly jumped as a hand came down on his shoulder.

"I don't believe we were allowed a proper hello last night, Harry."

Harry looked up, saw his godfather, and the two immediately embraced. Harry then turned to embrace his former teacher, Remus Lupin, who was behind Sirius. Both men looked extremely weary, but happy to see him. They began to chat about the Order of the Phoenix and about Voldemort, while Mrs. Weasley hovered close by. Everyone turned to listen in and give their own opinions about the war. Most of the information was reiterated from the previous night, but after the various events of the night before it was nice to be told once more about what the Order was doing against Voldemort and his supporters. The students, mainly, were trying to find out as much as they could before anyone could stop them, mainly Mrs. Weasley. But to everyone's surprise it wasn't Mrs. Weasley who would stop the information train, though she looked about ready to step in, instead it was Remus.

"I think that's enough, Sirius," Remus said quietly. "We mustn't tell too much or we may put _some_ in danger."

Sirius nodded his head in agreement immediately, allowing everyone to think that there was much more to what Remus was saying and giving Harry the impression that it had something to do with the students from Halliwell Magic School. Hermione had an inkling as well because Harry could see the mechanics in her mind moving rapidly to analyze the situation, while Ron, on the other hand, continued to eat his food without a second thought.

"Dumbledore is on his way," said Tonks, completely out of the blue.

"Alright. Someone should get the Charmed Ones and I have some chores for you, kids, to—" started Mrs. Weasley, but Tonks intervened,

"No, Molly. Dumbledore wants them here. He needs to talk to some of them as well. And as for the others upstairs—"

"I'll get them." said Remus as he got up from the table. But before he reached the door, he turned to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Did they—er— Does she…. Are they alright?"

The trio looked at each other and nodded their heads. They assumed that Remus was inquiring about the students, but they nodded on behalf of the whole lot of them upstairs. Remus nodded to himself and went to get them. As soon as Remus left the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley began fussing over the kitchen, her children, Harry and Hermione, who might as well have been her own.

The Charmed Ones entered the kitchen shortly with Prue and Piper leading. Phoebe followed next to Lucas and then Brooke with Paige. Lianna was missing, but before anyone could question her whereabouts, she walked in hand-in-hand with Remus. The young Halliwell students still looked exhausted, but they were much cleaner than last night. Although they were fifteen, they looked much older than their actual age, but as they entered there was a gleam of profound strength. After they were all seated at the long table, Mrs. Weasley fussed over them with piles of food and drinks, treating them all as if they were her own children like she had done with everyone else in the room.

"For heaven's sake, Molly!" cried an exasperated and embarrassed Mr. Weasley after watching his wife move around like a maniac for 10 minutes. "Dumbledore's on his way! Let them alone, dearest!"

"I just wanted to make sure they've eaten before Dumbledore arrives, Arthur," replied Mrs. Weasley, still making sure the students and the Charmed Ones had a good taste of breakfast before the impending chaos ensued.

"It's alright, Mr. Weasley," said Lucas with a smile. "She reminds me of my mom back home."

"Or Piper," coughed Paige from behind Brooke's back, while Prue and Phoebe choked on their juice.

"HEY! I resent that comment!" said Piper indulgently, "Molly and I are just loving people, loving mothers!"

"Right you are, dear," commented Mrs. Weasley.

Everyone smiled and chuckled at the happenings of the morning, acting as if they had known each other for years and enjoying one another's company. In the middle of the small merriment, Remus kissed Lianna on the forehead. Harry had saw Lianna slightly twitch when Piper talked about being a loving mother and Remus was trying to cover the simple fact that she was the only one not smiling at the breakfast table. Instead of looking somewhat happy, Lianna looked about ready to implode. So, Harry chose not to call attention to her, allowing the Charmed group to eat peacefully. Every now and then, the Weasley twins would comment on random things that seemed absurd to the Charmed Ones, but other than the occasional awkward questions, all seemed well. No one but Harry and Remus noticed Lianna's flicker of sadness, although Harry could have sworn that Sirius was occasionally calling attention to himself whenever the conversation was directed at Lianna.

Time passed by quickly that the group did not even realize that an hour had passed and Dumbledore had still not arrived, making some assume that something had gone awry. But as soon as they said their suspicions out loud, the famed Headmaster arrived. As it turns out, Dumbledore was patiently waiting outside the kitchen conversing with his fellow teachers, Mad- Eye, and Kingsley as the latecomers finished their meal. Dumbledore had thought it rude to interrupt a meal. When enough time had passed they entered the kitchen where the Charmed Ones, their students, the Weasley's, Hermione, Tonks, Sirius, Remus, and Harry continued to enjoy one another's company.

"Good morning, everyone," stated Dumbledore brightly, while everyone seemed to tense up. Dumbledore's arrival had brought on some revealing confrontations last night, so everyone was preparing themselves for various blows. "Now that we are all here, I would—"

"Wait," interjected Prue politely. _Here we go,_ some thought. "Albus, we've decided that they should know the truth about last year. It's only fair."

"I beg your pardon, Prudence. What do you mean?"

"They need to know, Albus. It's time for some truth. If they know about last year, it will make more sense to them. It will make things… a bit easier for us all," replied Piper.

"We were certain that the spell had worked, which it did perfectly, but magic can only go so far… And then comes fate," said Phoebe glimpsing at Harry, who looked at his hands.

"Harry remembers and soon they all will. We might as well tell them the truth now. There is no point in lying anymore because their bonds with one another are obviously greater than we thought they were," finished Paige.

"Why do we talk like that?" said Piper and Prue at the same time. Lucas snorted his juice and the room burst into small fits of laughter, even Dumbledore chuckled. When the laughter died down, Dumbledore composed himself and spoke once more.

"Although I admire the intention—"

"There's no way out of this, Dumbledore. Tell them or else your big plan will be missing a major piece," said Lianna seriously after seeing Dumbledore attempting to brush off the Charmed Ones' request. She was practically glaring at Dumbledore.

"Make that 3 major pieces," said Brooke with a fierce face, while Lucas nodded with the same determination as his best friends.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. He had never been forced to reveal anything before that he found delight in being overpowered by 4 legendary figures and their protégées. He was pleased, so pleased it seemed that it almost seemed as if he knew it was going to happen.

Dumbledore nodded his agreement and the Charmed Ones placed themselves in the middle of the room, while their students followed. Paige called out "Book of Shadows," summoning the renowned book of spells passed down to each generation of Halliwells. The students on the other hand waited as Lucas took out a small piece of paper from his pant pocket. Nodding their readiness to their teachers, the Charmed Ones began reciting a spell.

"_Time has passed with events repressed,_" started Prue.

"_Memories forgotten and relationships erased,_" continued Piper.

"_Return relationships from the past," _said Phoebe.

"_And may lost memories be recast,_" finished Paige, nodding at the three Magic School students.

Holding up the small piece of paper, the trio recited together:

"_Remember, remember the times we spent together._"

Flashes of memories rushed back to everyone in the room, mainly the Hogwarts students. From smiles, to laughter, to handshakes, and even bitter fights, various memories came rushing back to each of them. Suddenly everything was clearer, making a little more sense.

Halliwell Magic School did not pull out of the Triwizard Tournament. In fact, their champion was a fierce competitor that did extremely well for someone so young. The Magic School champion, Hayley Marie James, was a cousin to Neville Longbottom and was only thirteen years old when she competed, but despite her age performed brilliantly compared to her older fellow champions. Her only pitfall during the competition was time management. She was also the only champion to be completely clueless (by choice) to the various tasks, allowing her to be very creative in her attempts. Hayley was third place in the First Task, first place in the Second Task, placing her in second place before Krum in the Third Task. Hayley was a worthy champion for her school and presented exemplary magic for a young American girl of thirteen years old. Very impressive, indeed.

"Why do we have to read that weird spell?" said Brooke.

"Well you made it, Brookie," teased Lucas.

"Oh… well… In fairness, spells were never really my strong point."

"You were good at spells, you just sucked at creativity when it came to writing your own," said Lianna comfortingly.

The conversation brought the room back to reality. Some stared at various things and were still in a daze, while others were shaking their head as if to organize their thoughts. They heard a loud clank from the cupboard under the sink, causing Fred and George to bump heads in their daze. Ron shook his head fiercely, as Hermione blinked uncontrollably, but Harry simply looked at Lianna.

"We were friends," he said to her.

"Almost like… best friends," replied Lianna with a small smile.

"You helped me… and you were there for me throughout the tournament… but you left… you left before the Third Task. I— I— so confused,"

"Give it awhile Harry. It takes a bit to process everything. Don't rush it," said Lucas.

"No kidding! I feel like my head's about to explode!" yelled Ron as if he were miles away, making everyone flinch. He was still shaking his head vigorously.

"We were all friends," said Hermione slowly. "All of us… but where are—"

"Their dead, Hermione," said Lianna stiffly, but gently. Hermione covered her mouth and looked on the verge of tears. "A lot has happened since we last saw each other."

"But— Oh no," whispered Hermione to herself.

The Hogwarts students looked at the ground, the ceiling, or their hands. A lot has definitely happened; a lot has definitely changed after that fateful day of the Third Task. It seemed as if everyone had grown up in the last couple of months, far beyond their actual age. Not enough time had passed to heal various wounds, yet here was another revelation that rehashed some of the closed ones.

"Cedric—" started Harry.

"Was my older brother, Harry," finished Brooke softly.

"I— I'm sorry." He shouldn't have brought it up, but everything was getting jumbled in his mind that he had to ask, although he didn't mean to blurt it out.

"It's alright, Harry. My brother did good and I am very proud of him. He's always been my hero… now he's also someone else's," said Brooke as tears fell down her fair face. All Harry could do was nod, although he felt so guilty.

"May I?" stated Dumbledore after a moment. The Charmed Ones nodded, but Dumbledore was looking at their protégées. The students caught the Headmaster's eye and nodded their own consent_. _

"The memories that have returned to you are memories of last year, mainly the memories that took place at Hogwarts during the Triwizard Tournament. Those memories had been removed for your safety," explained Dumbledore as he looked at his Hogwarts students, "and for the safety of Halliwell Magic School. The Order knows all about the happenings of the last year, but the ministry does not. We believe that the spell was powerful enough, but to be effective The Magic School students had to band together to make the spell work efficiently. The spell was said shortly after Mr. Diggory's unfortunate death and the revelation from Barty Crouch Jr. That is why you have no recollection of Halliwell Magic School participating, other than the simple recollection that the fourth school had to withdraw before the competition ever started. The withdrawal was placed in the Daily Prophet and no one questioned it," explained Dumbledore. "The Charmed Ones, their Champion, and their students left Hogwarts immediately and quietly after the spell was cast. It was best that no one know of their presence at Hogwarts, especially the Dark Lord. But no matter how proficient the spell seemed to be, Magic School was still targeted. We concluded that the spell had missed someone important enough to convey Magic School as a threat to the Dark Lord or that there we left some kind of trace that clued in the other side. The last few months have been difficult for both Magic School and Hogwarts. As I am sure you know, The Ministry of Magic has done everything in their power to suppress the truth about the Lord Voldemort by defaming me and my credibility. So it is very important that we all understand the situation at hand."

Everyone listened to Dumbledore's words intensely, hanging on his every word. They knew that he was not speaking so seriously for his own health, Dumbledore was about to relay something very important. It could change everything.

"Tragedy and loss has occurred, but there is still hope. Hope in the bonds created and the bonds about to form. The current situation is very fragile and we all must stick together, especially the six of you," stated Dumbledore, as he looked to Lianna, Brooke, Lucas, Ron, Hermione, and Harry with an undeniable twinkle in his bright blue eyes. "Your bond with one another is _key_ in the fight against Voldemort."

The six fifteen year olds stared at one another. It was obvious that the Magic School trio knew much more than the Golden Trio because they looked at the Hogwarts students with importance.

"Why is it always us?" whispered Ron nervously so that only his two best friends could hear.

"I have no idea," Hermione said stiffly, also nervous for what was about to come.

"It's 'cause of me," said Harry apologetically. Ron and Hermione realized their mistake and gave Harry reassuring smiles, saying that they were with him 100 percent. But oh boy was the guilt increasing Harry with every word Dumbledore uttered.

Dumbledore looked to the Other Trio who knew what was about to happen. The Charmed Ones placed their hands on their students' shoulders, as if to hold them back, but instead they gave each a reassuring squeeze. The Other Trio nodded once more and sighed as they sat up straighter waiting for their signal.

"Now, Miss Granger—" Hermione's head jerked up in surprise "— and Mr. Scott, will you please come forth and face one another."

Lucas stood up from his seat and walked towards Hermione, who was so nervous that she found difficulty in getting out of the bench she was sitting on. Lucas just reached her before she stumbled out of the bench. Ron and Harry both reached out in an attempt to catch her, but Lucas caught her instead, helping her to her feet. Hermione blushed immensely.

"I —um… I usually gave more poise," she said as she recovered.

"Oh I know," smiled Lucas. "Don't worry. I got you."

Hermione smiled and together they walked to the middle of the room, in front of Dumbledore. They faced one another. Hermione and Lucas locked eyes, inquisitive brown eyes to intelligent blue eyes. Lucas reached out for Hermione's hand and the two connected, right hand to right hand. Everyone watched in awe as a blue cord wrapped around the pair's arms. Hermione gasped, almost pulling away from Lucas.

"It's ok," he said to her. And with those simple words, Hermione relaxed. As Hermione relaxed, the blue cord disappeared seemingly within Hermione and Lucas' skin. The pair released one another, while Hermione mouthed words to herself so that no one could hear.

"Feel any different?" asked Lucas curiously.

"A little… not really," replied Hermione with a raised eyebrow.

"Good because that was just a formality. I've been your Guardian for months now and I'll always be around to protect you. I promise." Lucas leaned in to whisper something in Hermione's ear. "Besides, you're my favorite."

Lucas winked, while Hermione laughed to the surprise of the room. She remembered how she had bonded with Lucas the year before. They were both so intelligent and inquisitive that they challenged each other in numerous topics. They ended up calling each other their favorite because no challenge would go unsolved with the two of them together, not to mention that they were so alike in many ways. They made a feisty, intellectual pair. They hugged and returned to their respective seats with smiles.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as the pair took their seats and Phoebe mouthed how proud she was to Lucas. He glanced at Brooke, who got up from her respective seat. She took a deep breath and walked forward. She looked at Ron, who timidly got up from his own seat. Ron almost stumbled like Hermione, but recovered with grace that no one noticed. As he stood in front of Brooke, he smiled his signature half smile.

"Scared?" said Brooke, reading her charge perfectly.

"No…" cracked Ron. Brooke smiled.

"Don't be. It's just me. I don't bite, promise." Ron relaxed a bit.

Brooke put out her hand and Ron took it confidently. At the joining of their hands, a bright yellow cord slinked around their clasped hands, but instead of disappearing like the way Lucas and Hermione's had, the cord disintegrated into little white lights like how the Charmed Ones had appeared the previous night.

"You've been touched by an angel, Ron," joked Brooke after the cord orbed into the pair's skin.

"If every angel were as beautiful as you, they wouldn't need wings," said Ron smoothly. Everyone broke into laughter, most especially Ron and Brooke.

"I'm a Whitelighter, you dork! I can orb and I can heal," said Brooke still giggling.

"Good. Then we'll make a good team." Ron leaned in to whisper. "I tend to get injured a lot. I have no idea why."

"Oh boy do I know that!" giggled Brooke.

The two went back to their seats, still laughing amongst themselves. Harry noticed that they would make an excellent team. Ron and Brooke gave each other a type of confidence that they could not attain from anyone else. They could derive positive energy from one another and be a pair to be reckoned with. They would be immensely loyal to one another and they would derive confidence from one another. Ron always had a problem with being the less 'gifted' amongst his extremely famous and intelligent best friends.

_Hmm,_ thought Harry. _Ron and Brooke give each other fierce loyalty and confidence, while Lucas and Hermione give each other intelligible knowledge_ _and a lively challenge. Both pairs make each other stronger. I wonder what Lianna and I will give to one another._

Harry looked to his best friends and their respective Guardians. He wondered about the pairing of him and Lianna. He couldn't help but think that he had nothing good to give especially because lately he always felt angry and frustrated. But then again, Lianna didn't show any signs of major patience either, especially last night. She was just as frustrated as he was, if not more. Harry feared that nothing good could become of their union if all they had was anger to give.

Author's Note: Sorry for the long delay!! School has seriously been killing the writing mood, but I'm hoping to post a couple of new chapters soon. Please be patient with me!! Sorry Again!! Hope you like the story so far!!


	7. Chapter 7: Two Decisions

Chapter 7: Two Decisions

Harry took a deep breath and was about to stand, but stopped at the sight of small white lights at the door. Harry sat back down slowly, hoping that no one noticed. But when Harry looked around at the table, he locked eyes with his godfather who smirked at him. Harry frowned. He was almost home free. Sirius smiled to himself and chose not to call any attention to his godson's… enthusiasm.

While Harry and Sirius had their secret exchange, everyone looked to the kitchen door where the white lights appeared. Leo Wyatt appeared at the door way with two duffel bags and looked at the crowded room. He looked taken aback that everyone was staring at him that he shifted the duffel bags in his hands.

"Uh… Sorry," he said. "Did I… uh… interrupt something?"

"Oh of course not Honey," said Piper as she walked up to her husband. "Just you know making plans to save the world again. No big deal."

Piper walked Leo to where the rest of the Halliwells were, mouthing 'Sorry" over and over to the whole room. A couple of people stifled their chuckles. Leo put down the two duffel bags on the table and looked around.

"Sorry. I assumed… never mind." Piper rubbed her neck in embarrassment as her husband continued to speak. "Well, your parents are wondering about you Luke. And Brooke your father is with your mother in L.A., so after this they would like to see you. After this you two should go see your families so that they're not worried. Lia, you can come of course. Oh yea, Prue, Andy says that he'll make dinner… Um… oh! Henry wanted to catch lunch with you Paige, but I guess not considering you're still here… and Phoebe, Coop says that he'll be home late—"

Piper hit Leo in the stomach, stopping him from relaying anymore messages.

"Haha yea Honey, there will be time for that later. Ok? Ok good."

"But you said—"

"Leo," said Piper as she moved her hand over her husband's mouth as if it were a zipper, locked it and threw away the key. Leo finally understood and nodded his head.

"Sorry. Please continue," said Leo as Piper threw up her hands. She mouthed another 'sorry,' while the room chuckled. Even Lianna smirked a little, but Snape, who had been silently patient behind Dumbledore, walked to the front.

"Potter!"

Harry jumped out of his seat. He didn't expect to be yelled at by his least favorite teacher, least of all in his godfather's home. But Snape's outburst was not well advised because Sirius stood up so fast that he had reached Snape within a split second.

"Excuse me," said Sirius simply. Snape rolled his eyes, said nothing and returned to his place behind Dumbledore. "I thought so."

Sirius moved next to his godson and stood behind him. Harry smirked happily at the small confrontation between Sirius and Snape that he almost forgot what was going on.

"Harry?" said Dumbledore after a brief moment. "If you will?"

Harry looked around. Lianna was getting out of her seat, while he continued to stare. With a little nudge from Hermione, Harry got up from where he was sitting and walked to the middle of the room. The pair's eyes met and they stood facing one another. Harry's bright green eyes looked into Lianna's light brown ones, while Dumbledore's bright blue eyes twinkled so much they could have been seen through a black hole.

"We were good friends, weren't we?" asked Harry.

"In the short time that we knew each other," said Lianna as tears formed in her eyes, but did not fall, "It was like we were family…"

Sirius shifted his feet and Remus moved in his seat on the elongated table at Lianna's words, while the Charmed Ones and Leo looked directly at Dumbledore. But Dumbledore just watched the pair carefully, just like everyone else in the room.

"All that anger and frustration that you're feeling, Harry… I have similar feelings… as you saw last night," said Lianna gently. "I hope you'll forgive me for leaving you… last year… but it was for your own protection."

There was more to what Lianna had just said. Harry could feel it, but could not pinpoint it. At her words, Harry relaxed a great deal. He felt extremely comfortable with her.

"You don't need to ask for forgiveness. It isn't necessary. I trust you," said Harry reassuringly. Harry figured it out. They derived strength and comfort from one another. They both felt the pressures of the world on their shoulders. Both were famous for something they had no control over and they understood each other. Above all, both were willing to give what the other needed in addition to what their loved ones needed even if it meant their own happiness. But the best thing that they gave each other was a sense of family. Family that had long been lost to Harry ever since his parents died.

Lianna smiled a genuine smile and held out her hand, but Harry did not take it. Instead, Harry pulled Lianna into an embrace. As soon as he did so, Dumbledore jerked forward in an attempt to stop the motion, but he was too late. A bright white circle surrounded Harry and Lianna, not allowing anyone to enter. Lianna and Harry looked at one another, both pairs of hands clasped to the other's. Then a golden cord appeared from within the skin of Harry and Lianna, as if there was already a cord in place before. The golden cord made red sparks when it fully appeared. The cord then gleamed bright silver and disappeared again into the pair's skin. The white circle dimmed and then disappeared, but before it could disappear entirely, Harry's lightning bolt scar glowed brightly, while something flashed vibrantly beneath Lianna's right wrist. Everyone looked on in awe and shock. Everything ended as suddenly as it came and the two teenagers released each other's hand.

"WOW," remarked Ron out of the silence. "That was bloody awesome!"

"Wicked," chimed in Fred and George together.

Mrs. Weasley walked up to Harry and held his elbow, while Sirius smiled jovially with a gentle clap on Harry's back. Remus immediately got up from his seat and walked up to Lianna with Piper following closely behind. When they reached her Piper caressed Lianna's cheek and held her by the waist, while Remus kissed Lianna's forehead.

"Everyone please be seated," interrupted Dumbledore politely.

Everyone sat down on the long table. Some stood to rearrange themselves, while others simply just slid down the table. Brooke ruffled Ron's hair as she passed to sit across from him, causing Ron to grunt. The Guardians sat across from their respective charges, while Leo and the Charmed Ones sat at the end nearest the kitchen door with the Order. The Weasleys placed themselves at the opposite end of the table.

"Now that we are all seated, what we have all just witnessed is an Unbreakable Vow. Only those of us in this room will know about these vows taken between Harry and Lianna, Ron and Brooke, and Hermione and Lucas," said Dumbledore to the room.

Everyone looked to the newly united pairs, leaving Hermione blushing, Ron with an embarrassed grin, and Harry looking at his hands. The Other Trio, on the other hand, kept their eyes on Dumbledore unfazed by the attention they were receiving.

"Although I must add that there should have been more of you. Instead of having a full bag of licorice wands, we only have a small handful," attempted Dumbledore with a smile as he tried to crack a joke that no one seemed to understand. The room looked confused and stared blankly, while some like Harry wanted to laugh but chose otherwise. Dumbledore cleared his throat, trying to regain his usual respectable manner.

"Albus…" came the soft whisper of Paige after she realized what Dumbledore had said. "Are you trying to say that… that if the others hadn't… if they were still here that—"

"Yes, Paige. Precisely," said Dumbledore, back to his usual manner, although a bit more solemn.

"All of them?"

"Yes, Paige. All of them: Wyatt—"

Brooke twitched.

"Chris—"

Lianna closed her eyes.

"Melinda—"

Lucas flinched and then looked at his hands.

"Payton, Hayley, Nathan, and of course, Jake as well if he accepts his responsibility."

Lianna snorted at the sound of Jake's name. Snape raised an eyebrow from behind Dumbledore.

"Jake might as well have died too," she remarked spitefully.

"Lia!" yelled Prue, looking at the young girl through hard eyes, eyes that were also filling with tears.

"Lia's right, Prue. He left us. Left us to suffer all by ourselves when we should have each other to lean on," said Brooke bitterly.

"But Broo—" attempted Phoebe, but was immediately cut off by Lucas.

"No. We trusted him, yet when the going gets rough he runs— runs rights back to mommy and daddy. He went straight back to that damn privileged life of his without a second thought as to what would become of us, his _supposed_ friends!"

"He doesn't care about us. He doesn't even care to send a single rose or anything to Payton's grave, let alone anyone else's. Friends! HA! No, he won't be a guardian again because it almost killed him last time," finished Lianna.

"Jacob knows all about the circumstances," said Dumbledore curtly. "He just needs time to—"

"Don't you get it Dumbledore?! Jake is a _MALFOY_," said Lianna emphasizing the last word. "He is exactly like his forefathers! He is egotistical and proud. He only thinks of himself! Even if this was in his past—"

"It is still in his future," stated Dumbledore to the shock of The Other Trio. Everyone looked shocked to even hear that there was another Malfoy about the world, but to hear that he was a guardian or still is, was even more shocking.

"Then you failed miserably, Dumbledore. He won't do it. Lucius and Narcissa will never allow it—" Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other mouthing, _Draco has a brother?_ "— You better find someone else because if you don't, I can't promise that I won't kill him when I see him!"

"Lia!! You don't mean that!" cried Prue, who looked about close to sobbing, her unfazed strength finally abandoned. Tears finally fell from the eldest sister.

"Oh like hell she doesn't Prue! He _abandoned_ us! Does that not mean anything?!" said a furious Brooke.

"He's going through the exact same thing you guys are—" tried Phoebe again.

"Yet here we are: together like we're supposed to be!" exclaimed Lucas.

"He just needs—" said Paige.

"No excuses!! We sure as hell couldn't use any!!" Lucas stood up and looked Dumbledore straight in the eyes. "He better not come around here or you may have a dead body on your hands, Dumbledore."

Harry was dumbfounded. Lucas, Brooke, and Lianna looked about ready to commit murder, while Prue let out some more tears. The other Charmed Ones were shaking their heads. Given, Draco was definitely not Harry's best friend and the Malfoys were Pureblooded freaks, but apparently this Jake Malfoy had committed a mortal wrong. _So there's another Malfoy… worse than Lucius Malfoy and Draco Malfoy? Great, _thought Harry. _But why don't I remember him?_

Harry looked to Ron and Hermione to see that they were also taken aback. They seemed to be thinking the same thing along with everyone else in the room. Snape, on the other hand, looked absolutely disgusted, but he knew better than to say anything in a room that obviously disliked him as much as he disliked them. Everyone sat in silence. Lucas sat back down and Prue wiped away some tears with Paige rubbing her back gently.

"People can change," stated Dumbledore after a moment with a strange twinkle in his eyes. "Difficult times can do wonders to a person. I have hope, as do your teachers. You may have given up on your friend. Yes, Brooke, your _friend_. But I have not."

The three Magic School students shook their heads. They believed Dumbledore was waiting for a lost cause. In their opinion Jake would never take on the responsibility of protecting another person's life again. Jake was broken just like the Other Trio. But instead of leaning on the friends that had his back for years, he reverted back to his old self-domineering Malfoy way. The one person who was able to bring out the good in him was gone. Payton was gone, along with everyone else…

"Albus?" said Piper softly.

Everyone looked to the Halliwell sister, noticing that she had been silently shedding tears on her husband's shoulder while the argument about Jacob Malfoy occurred. Everyone now looked at her with sad, caring eyes. She was the sister who lost the most. Piper and Leo did not just lose their favorite students that they treated like their own, but they also lost their actual three children: Wyatt, Chris, and Melinda; the three children that were supposed to be the start of the next Halliwell generation. It was too much to bear for the young couple, that now everyone fully understood Piper's reactions to the Other Trio's heroism yesterday.

"Who would have been their charges?" continued Piper as tears fell from her brown eyes that matched all of her sisters' except Prue who had hazel eyes.

"Piper," said Dumbledore. "I don't think—"

"Please, Albus," sniffed Leo. "We need to know."

"I cannot tell you the truth for I honestly do not know, but I do have my suspicions."

"We'd like to hear them, please." Leo stood and looked at Dumbledore attentively.

"If fate had allowed, I believe that the pairs would have been as follows: Lianna Stevens with Harry Potter, Brooke Diggory and Ronald Weasley, Lucas Scott and Hermione Granger, Wyatt Halliwell and Miss Ginny Weasley—"

Ginny twitched in shock at the sound of her name, while Mrs. Weasley reached for her only daughter.

"Nathan Scott and his cousin, Miss Luna Lovegood—"

Lucas put his hand over his face at the sound of his twin brother's name and the lone family member that Nathan genuinely went nuts over. _They would have made a dynamic pair,_ thought Lucas as he smiled to himself behind his hands.

"Melinda Halliwell and Hayley James would have been with Fred and George Weasley respectively," said Dumbledore, pausing for a moment to look at the two mischievous Weasley twins.

The Weasley twins looked at one another, shocked. Fred almost fell out of his chair at the same time as George's jaw dropped, letting loose a piece of bread he was about to munch on. The twins just stared in shock while Mr. Weasley and Bill Weasley exchanged anxious glances.

"And then I believe that Miss Payton Stuart would have been with Mr. Neville Longbottom, while Jacob Malfoy with his brother, Draco Malfoy."

"Malfoy? Draco Malfoy? Why? He's nothing special—" started Ron.

"Besides he's a good for nothing Slytherin," agreed Harry.

"I beg your pardon," said Snape dangerously.

Ron and Harry were about to retort, but Ron received a death glare from his mother and Hermione whacked Harry in the stomach. The best friends were silenced.

"Slytherins are as worthy as any other house, Harry," replied Dumbledore looking at Snape, who in turn smirked proudly. Sirius, amongst many others in the room, rolled his eyes.

"Ok wait. You're not done. You haven't mentioned who Chris' charge was supposed to be," said Brooke with a confused, but attentive look on her face.

"That answer, Miss Diggory, I believe you already know," commented Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eyes, although if you looked closely it wasn't a twinkle at all. If you looked close enough, you would be able to see an actual tear fall into the old man's silver beard. "It is not a matter of who it would have been, but a matter of who it already was."

"What the… But that's why I'm asking. I… eh… what? Am I missing something?" Brooke was asking Lianna, her best friend, but Lianna did not respond, she just stared at Dumbledore with wide eyes.

"Think about it Brooke. Who did Chris always protect? Always save? Who, out of the whole world, did he give his _life_ to?" said Lucas gently. Phoebe covered her mouth, while Paige and Prue leaned on one another.

At first Brooke was still slightly confused, she paused to think, and then her head swung back to look at Lianna. Brooke stared at her best friend and she put a hand over Lianna's folded hands that were neatly placed in her lap. Tears flowed freely down Leo and Piper's cheeks, while everyone looked to Lianna.

"It all makes sense," said Phoebe, "why the two of you were so connected, even when you were bickering like an old married couple. Why you couldn't escape one another…." Phoebe slightly laughed, while tears fell from her eyes.

"But—" started Lianna, her voice barely a whisper. Remus looked at the young girl worriedly; he did not like the current situation at all. _This revelation could destroy her_, he thought.

"He became your guardian as soon as you accepted, as soon as you said, 'yes,'" stated Dumbledore.

"You only said 'yes' to him once, Lia. Remember? He was so happy that day…" sniffed Leo as his voice cracked, remembering the day his son came home after Lianna had finally given him a chance. "He was bouncing off the walls, he was so happy. He asked you—"

"To give him a chance…" Lianna covered her mouth and closed her eyes. She remembered that day perfectly because she was also extremely happy. It was the first day of countless smiles and laughter… and love. After that day, Chris Halliwell and Lianna Stevens were inseparable. "But I didn't… He was bugging the crap out of me. I—I didn't… We were only 8 years old!! How…"

"But you wanted to say yes because you liked him," smiled Leo to this young girl that carried the world on her shoulders, this young girl that gave his son everything, this young girl that he and his wife loved immensely. Lianna looked at Leo, then to Piper, and then to Remus with sad eyes. "How young you were didn't matter… the two of you… it was just meant to be…"

"What have I done?" Lianna's heart fell. She shouldn't have allowed this. She should have prevented it. She should have been the one protecting him. From the start, she thought that she had, but now…

"You've done nothing wrong, Lia," said Piper as she sat next to Lianna. She touched the young girl's face with tears falling from her eyes. "Sweetie listen to me. Chris always knew you and him were meant to be. No ceremonies needed, no stupid prophecies, and no one had to say a damn thing. It was in his heart from the start. _You_ were in his heart. _He_ was meant for _you_. He was your Whitelighter, your guardian angel. And you gave him every reason to be happy. I will always be thankful to you for that." Piper was so filled with emotion she cracked, making Mrs. Weasley, amongst others, tear up. Even the Weasley twins were pretending that they were not blinking back tears.

"He chose you. No one had to tell him. And you chose him as well." Lianna's eyes glided to Dumbledore as he said this.

"He was meant to protect you and he just happened to fall in love along the way," finished Leo, looking to his wife.

"Like father, like son," Piper said lovingly, returning her husband's gaze.

Lianna looked at the legendary pairing of Leo and Piper, who had become her second family, amongst plenty of other titles. Leo and Piper's love story was a true tale of love. Their story seemed so like hers and Chris', yet so different, especially the ending. She cannot deny that she had fallen for Chris, especially after that fateful day almost 7 years ago. She had fallen so hard that her whole being ached because she missed him so much. It took everything she had to just wake up in the morning, let alone live the life of an up and coming hero.

"I'm so thankful that my kids had loved incredible people, even though they were taken so early. They were happy and that's all I could've asked for…" said Piper, looking from Lianna to Brooke and then finally to Lucas.

"But he failed," whispered Lianna, a single stray tear falling from her light brown eyes. She looked up and she felt the anger arise once more.

"No he did not. Lianna, you are alive—" attempted Dumbledore.

"At the expense of his own life! Is that supposed to make me feel better? Am I supposed to say, 'Hey thanks Chris. Thanks for making me fall for you and then getting yourself killed! Don't worry 'bout me! I'll be fine! You go ahead and die!!'" Lianna was standing at this point, her shoulders going up and down with every intake of breath. "Well guess what? I didn't want this!! I didn't want _any _of this!! His sacrifice was in vain! It was all for nothing!! God! There's no one left! They're all dead! None of them got to accomplish—"

"They accomplished everything," said Prue gently, but loud enough for all to hear. "They conquered it all! They loved immensely and they fought tremendously! They were amazing kids with amazing strength."

"They saved thousands, not once, not twice, but countless times in their short lives. Demons, Sources of all Evil, dragons, even Death Eaters," continued Phoebe proudly.

"They took on whatever trials came at them. Even through death they are still guardians. Your guardians. No magic needed. They will be watching of all you until you meet again," said Paige tenderly.

"They were able to live out courageous lives. Lives filled with love and amazing friendships… and family. They… They should be the reason you fight on," finished Piper.

"We know that their heroes, but that's beside the point," said Brooke sadly.

"Then what, if I may ask," said Snape snarkily, "is the point?"

Everyone looked at Snape annoyed at his remark. He was obviously tired of being in the room just listening, so he had to say something annoying. He was definitely not helping the situation at all. Lucas looked at the Hogwarts Potions teacher through narrowed eyes.

"The point, Snape, is that their gone. They lost the battle," said Lucas thickly.

"They lost no such thing," said Professor McGonagall, speaking for the first time. "In all aspects, they were victorious. They fought for the greater good and for each of you."

She looked at Lianna, Brooke and Lucas.

"They were willing to sacrifice their own lives out of the love they had for you, for their families, and for the world. If you do not accept the challenge or the truth of the situation, then _you_ are the ones who have let them down. They won their battle, the question now is whether you are willing to continue the fight in their name."

Brooke was brought to tears at the gentle words of Professor McGonagall. She looked to Lucas and Lianna. And then she looked at Paige, her mentor.

"I want to say that I will… I want to say that I can because I want to do it _for them_… for Ced… but I don't know if I can." Brooke was sobbing and choking over her words. "It's all too much… I always derived strength from our friendships, our family of friends…But they're not here!"

"Oh Sweetie! You are not alone. I'll help you," cried Paige as she held her young student. The two embraced, crying on one another's shoulder and Ron stood up.

"So will I," said Ron from where he was standing. He had a determined look in his face that made Brooke smile through her sobs. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked at their son proudly as Brooke looked at Lucas and Lianna who were watching her carefully.

"Ok… the fight goes on," she said through her tears. "Luke? Lia? I can't do this on my own… I need my best friends… You're all I have left."

Lucas sighed. His lips quivered. He didn't know what to say. He started to trace the various names of his friends on the table with his finger, lips still quivering. He was tracing the name "Melinda" when Hermione reached out her hand to cover his. The two locked eyes.

"No challenge can go unsolved without us," smiled a tearful Hermione. Lucas nodded with a half smile.

"Alright," Lucas got up to hug Brooke. "What do you say Lia? All for one and one for all? Like old times?"

Lianna looked at her best friends. "You don't get it. I CAN'T. I'm… _dying_ inside without them…without Chr— I… I understand how the both of you feel but… it's too much!"

"Lia... please," said Harry quietly, looking at his Guardian. _I can't do this without you…, _he thought.

Lianna looked at Harry tears forming in her eyes, threatening to fall.

"I need to think about it… excuse me."

And with that Lianna ran out of the kitchen and went straight to her room. Brooke hiccupped and started to sob once more. Lucas grabbed his other best friend and held her tightly. Piper sat down on the long table with Paige and they both cried, while Phoebe and Prue held hands, tears falling freely.

"Lucas," came Dumbledore's soft voice.

"I don't know, Dumbledore. Whatever she decides, we will accept it. Lia has given up so much and has lost so much, she needs the time to figure it out. You owe her that much," said Lucas.

"But can you convince her?" said Snape fiercely.

"She is not a robot that be programmed, Snape!! You can't just flip a fudging switch and expect her to follow orders!! SHE IS A HUMAN BEING!! She needs time! So you will wait just like everyone else. Lianna Stevens has always had march to her the beat of her own drum, that's what makes her so special! So shut the F up!" yelled Brooke fiercely, trying not to curse Snape to bits.

Author's Note: Next chapter will be in a couple of weeks cuz I got finals, but hopefully I can spare some time!! Thanx for reading!!

P.S. i have a really nice banner that accompanies this story... can i put it up or is it not allowed?


	8. Chapter 8: Of Pillows and Dreams

Chapter 8: Of Pillows and Dreams

By the time everything was said and done, it was late afternoon and everyone was emotionally drained. Lianna resided in her room after darting out of the kitchen, while Brooke and Lucas orbed back to California with the Halliwell family so that they could reassure their worried parents. Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape left once more for Hogwarts to prepare for the upcoming school year while Mad-Eye left to relieve an Order member from their shift. Tonks and Kingsley left to go back to their day jobs as Aurors for the Ministry of Magic, leaving Mrs. Weasley to fuss over food once more. Everyone else in the kitchen sat in silence. Mrs. Weasley started to ready a late lunch for anyone who was hungry and for any Order members that would stop by. Ginny, not knowing what else to do, got up to assist her mother. Mr. Weasley and Bill struck up a whispered conversation with Sirius and an exhausted Remus Lupin, leaving the Golden Trio and the Weasley twins.

The five Hogwarts students stared at one another. Hermione started to fiddle with her hair, while Ron was swinging his head towards the kitchen door in an attempt to signal his friends that they should leave, but Harry just stared in confusion. Fred and George twiddled their thumbs and hummed a few tunes, not know what to do with themselves.

"Well, I am tired aren't I Fred?" said George yawning with his arms stretched out.

"Huh? It's barely 1 in the afternoon. We haven't even done any—" Fred stifled a gasp and turned red. George had obviously stepped on his foot, hard.

"Oh yea. Me too. Funny how that happens eh? Uh— eh— We're going to nap upstairs," said Fred through the searing pain from his foot.

"Haha… yea, right, growing boys, you know," said George with an awkward face.

"Bye," they said together and Apparated out of the room with a loud CRACK to their room above.

The twin's effort to be discreet went unnoticed as Mrs. Weasley barely turned away from the food she was preparing. Ginny, on the other hand, grinned at their effort, while Ron whispered, "Why didn't they just leave?" to a giggling Harry and Hermione. So, Harry, Ron, and Hermione got up, excused themselves and headed for the room Harry and Ron shared. They entered the room, closed the door, and sat on the beds.

"That was incredibly uncomfortable," said Hermione, rubbing the back of her neck as she situated herself onto Harry's bed after disdainfully looking at Ron's hazardous bed. For all Hermione knew, something could be living there.

"Weird though isn't it?" said Ron inquisitively.

"What is Ron?" replied Hermione.

"Well this whole situation actually. I find it rather strange that although I remember the whole lot of them at Hogwarts last year, I barely remember Malfoy having a brother and I just… I find it strange that… Well, to be honest I think I've always had a connection to Brooke. Or at least now I assume it was Brooke. Of course there's that whole thing last year, but even before our fourth year it's like I've been looking for something, someone. I guess I found it in Brooke."

Hermione glared a bit to Harry's surprise, but her retort was even more surprising.

"Well then Ronald, if you think so highly of Brooke, why don't you ask her to marry you?" snapped Hermione, showing a little bit of the green jealousy monster. Harry had to cover his mouth to prevent the other two from seeing his grin, while Ron looked completely taken aback.

"I didn't mean… I don't think of her romantically, Hermione," said Ron as he placed his hand on hers, not realizing the sentimental gesture. Ron moved his hand immediately and turned a brilliant red, while Hermione was pure crimson from blushing. Harry just shook his head. "Uh… What I meant was that Brooke and I have a connection of sorts. It's as if we were meant to know one another… NOT ROMANTICALLY—just a deep… friendship?"

Ron raised an eyebrow. He was confusing himself as he tried to explain more thoroughly, so he just put his head in his hands and gave up his attempt. He was still extremely red, but Hermione merely looked curious.

"I know how you feel, Ron," said Harry, while Hermione continued to ponder what her best friends were saying. "I just can't explain it…"

"I think you're right, Ron. But don't get too excited," said Hermione as she saw Ron about to throw his fist in the air in triumph, so Ron retracted immediately. "It wasn't a coincidence that we all… oh what's the word for it?"

"Complement each other?" said Harry.

"Yes. Exactly, Harry. We all fit as if we were pieces of a puzzle—"

"Oh please don't go on one of your rants, Hermione. We just wanted to know if you understood, not if you could—"

But Ron never finished his complaint as a furious Hermione hit him with a pillow square in the face. Harry laughed, resulting in a pillow in his own face, knocking his glasses askew. This time the pillow came from Ron, so Harry grabbed a pillow and attempted to throw it back at Ron, but two loud CRACKS redirected his aim hitting Hermione.

Fred and George stood at the door laughing, so the trio of fifth years grabbed pillows and flung them at the Weasley twins. But the twins Apparated to the other side of the room, with another pair of loud cracks avoiding the flurry of pillows. When the feather stuffing had cleared, everyone saw that the bedroom door was open with Ginny covered in feathers. And then in an instant, the room was covered in feathers, pillows, and best of all, laughter.

"HEY! NO WANDS!" came the muffled cry of Ron to his elder brothers.

The twins were about to say a spell for biting pillows when Hermione and Ginny came out of nowhere taking their wands before the spell could be casted.

"Fair Game!" laughed Ginny with a mischievous smile. Behind her, Ron, Harry, and Hermione each wore their own mischievous grins to supplement the pillows in each of their hands. Fred and George laughed nervously looking at each other.

"Tuck and roll, Georgie. Tuck and roll," said Fred, but before the twins could "tuck" or "roll," they were pelted by numerous pillows and laughter erupted in the small room. Their fluffy war continued, while the rest of the world discretely readied themselves for a more sinister war.

* * *

Down the hall, Lianna heard bouts of laughter. At first it was just one laugh, but now the laughter had erupted threatening to drill holes through the door. Lianna, sitting at the windowsill, stood up and walked to the door.

"Harry!" shrieked Hermione through the door, but instead of hearing Hermione's warm-hearted warning, Lianna heard another voice, a shrill, frightened one.

The voice was a woman's, a mother's, piercing, but distant— a mere memory.

Lianna closed her eyes, put her hand on the door and whispered a spell. The laughter abruptly stilled, leaving a simple silence. Lianna had casted a spell to block out the merriment down the hall, but as she opened her eyes the woman's shriek continued to ring in her ears. Lianna shook her head, causing the memory to fade and disappear to the back of her mind where it had once rested, silenced but never forgotten.

Lianna went back to the windowsill and looked out at the ignorant Muggle world. She watched oblivious Muggles going about their daily lives despite the threat of an ongoing war in their midst. Lianna shook her head, numerous horrific memories threatening to reveal themselves once more. In an attempt to block out the memories, Lianna focused her attention on a Muggle family situated just outside her window.

The father, a middle-aged man with dark hair, was holding two cones of ice cream. Following close behind was a young boy, almost an exact replica of his father. The young boy was holding a bouquet of flowers much bigger than himself and lost his shoe while trying to keep pace with his father's large strides. The father and son stopped in their tracks. The father took the bouquet and placed it on the ground, while the boy held on to the two cones of ice cream. The father tied his son's shoelaces, playfully messed with the boy's hair, grasped the bouquet, and the pair strolled on towards a park bench where another pair resided.

The other pair was a mother and her daughter. The mother's blonde hair clashed with her daughter's sleek dark hair, but their resemblance was unmistakable. The pair was laughing as the mother finished braiding the young girl's hair. Then the little girl turned around and attempted to tickle her mother, but instead was forced to surrender as her mother got the upper hand. The girl giggled fiercely and then the two looked up to see the father and son approaching with gifts. The boy walked over to his sister and gave her one of the cones of ice cream, as she beamed happily in thanks. The father gave the bouquet to his wife but as she got up to give a thankful kiss, the man backed away. The mother stood confused. But then the man pulled out a large box of chocolates from his coat pocket whispering unheard words. The parents smiled and touched noses. They leaned in for a sweet kiss but the man glanced curiously at his son, who was struggling to climb onto the bench. The boy was using only one hand to lift himself onto the bench because the other was carefully preserving the sweet dessert, while his sister attempted to help with her own free hand. Seeing the struggle, the parents chuckled and with one swoop of his arm, the father had picked up his son and placed him next to his sister. The siblings ate their ice cream merrily, while the parents sat on either side of the bench: the mother next to the girl and the father beside his son. The mother set the chocolate box in between the siblings and the whole family ate joyfully.

Lianna watched the little family until the box of chocolates and the ice cream dissolved into their bellies. Then the family got up. The children stood on the bench and the parents stepped in front of them. Lianna was surprised to see that when the family had turned around, the little girl was in her father's arms, while also carrying the bouquet of flowers, and the boy was in his mother's arms twirling her hair in his fingers. It turns out the boy wasn't really playing with his mother's hair, instead he was trying to place a flower behind her ear. The family started to walk away and the last thing that Lianna saw was a sweet kiss between the parents.

Lianna smiled a sad smile. A tear escaped her eyes as she walked over to the cabinet, pulling out a small photo. The photo was quite old and did not move, compared to the many photos in the Wizard World. Lianna caressed the small photo with her thumb. She whispered a spell and the people in the photo began to move, parents laughing and carrying two babies. It was a picture of a new family full of joy, laughter, and most especially love. Lianna sat on the bed and held the small photo to her heart as various tears fell from her soft brown eyes. She sighed a deep sad sigh as she placed her head on the pillow…

"_He needs you," said a distant familiar voice. _

_Lianna opened her eyes to a foggy hilltop. She looked around apprehensively for the source of the voice._

"_Who's there?" she said in a panic._

"_Do you really have to ask?" said the voice, "Love."_

_Lianna turned around to see Chris Halliwell walking towards her out of the fog. Lianna stared at the young man she gave her whole heart to, the same young man that she knew to be dead. _

"_Chris…" she whispered softly._

"_Don't say it any louder, Love. I can totally hear you," joked Chris. _

"_But—I—Chris—What is going on?" Lianna was shaking her head, trying to comprehend how she was seeing her dead boyfriend, let alone talking to him. _

"_Don't freak out! You are not crazy—at least not yet." Chris winked at Lianna, who returned his wink with a stern look. "I miss that annoyed look of yours... I miss a lot of things."_

_Chris moved a stray hair away from Lianna's face. "You're dreaming, Love."_

_Lianna turned away. She had been avoiding dreaming of her dead boyfriend for months resulting in little or no sleep, yet here she was at the top of a hill that her group of friends claimed as their own and talking to her dead boyfriend. _I don't even remember falling asleep, _she thought. _

"_Don't be scared, Love. I got you. You needed help. A sign of sorts. Something to help you make a decision about everything. But I have to say that I'm disappointed, Lia. You haven't been reading the signs very well because your mind needed to conjure up your dead boyfriend so that you could finally understand what needs to be done."_

"_Don't. I don't need your help. I know what I have to d—" said Lianna._

"_Then why are we here? Love, you're hiding. You've been hiding since I died," said Chris gently._

"_No, I am not! This destiny or… or… whatever this is— it's not set in stone! It's—"_

"_He needs you. He still needs you, Lia—"_

"_Who? Dumbledore? He can fend for his damn self so don't be Dumbledore's little advocate—"_

"_Not Dumbledore, Lia. Your brother."_

_Lianna bit her lip and swung around to face Chris, only to turn away from him again. She felt a hand on her shoulder, but the touch was barely physical, almost like a faint touch of the wind. _

"_He still needs you. He needs your help," continued Chris. _

"_Chris, HE doesn't know I exist! I've watched over him for years, protected him, but I still can't reveal myself. I can't tell him everything I've held onto for 14 years, let alone be his sister! No, he doesn't need me. He's safer without me." Lianna's voice cracked and she tried to walk away. _

"_Harry."_

"_What about Harry?" said Lianna still walking._

"_He needs you," said Chris almost forcefully. Lianna closed her eyes and froze._

"_He finally has someone who understands him, to help him in his own treacherous journey and you're just going to walk away when he needs you most?" Chris' voice was angry now, as Lianna started to walk again. "YOU don't run. YOU don't hide. You have always been the stronghold of the group! Leading us when we needed to be lead, protecting others when they weren't yours to protect! You always adapted to the situation at hand, always done what was needed or asked of you and more. Since when have you ever been so selfish?"_

_Lianna whirled around to face Chris, vicious tears falling from her once soft brown eyes. _

"_I deserve to be selfish after everything that has happened in my life! I have fought for everyone else, it's my turn to fight for me! I. Deserve. To. Be… FREE!" she yelled._

"_And you think you'll be free if you hide? If you run? I know you, Lia! You will drive yourself crazy if you run away from this because you will be worried sick about everyone else. That's what I love about you. You always come back stronger! You've never been able to pull yourself from those in need especially if you love them! That's why you chose to be a Guardian, remember? Always the first to make any sacrifice for any charge and always the first to help. You were always the one on the front line, ready to be the first to strike or to take the hit. You… you were always willing."_

"_I've changed…you're _dead_. You don't get to dictate my life like the way everyone else has been doing for 15 years! I've never had a choice_. _I've always made it my own way somehow but it was always someone else's decision first! For once I want to choose my fate and be able to save those I love!"_

"_We both know that you would have chosen the same path you're on. I know you better than you know yourself, Love. You were my charge, my very special charge." Lianna choked on her tears as she heard this. Tears also fell from Chris' warm green eyes as he continued, "I'm so sorry I abandoned you. I'm sorry you feel so much agony, but trust me, baby, I would have never left you if I thought you couldn't handle this on your own. None of us would have if we didn't believe in your strength… in all of your strengths. I'm sorry we decided for you, but we didn't leave you all alone. You have Brooke, Lucas, even Jake and trust me you will need him, all of them including your new charges. With them you can topple any hardships." Chris paused to wipe away his tears and he touched her face with that distant touch. "And the best part is, I'm still with you, Love."_

"_No," hiccupped Lianna as more tears fell, "You don't get a say in my decisions anymore. You're dead."_

"_Lia, just listen to me!"_

"_NO!" Lianna stomped away again. She was angry and frustrated. She didn't know where she was going, but she just kept going, although she didn't seem to be getting far. Chris still stood in the same place watching her. _

"_You can't run from it, Lia. Whether you like it or not, it will hang over you until you give in because you know that this is exactly where you should be. You're stubborn. I know that, but you have never been selfish," said Chris calmly._

_Now Lianna started to run, more frustrated than ever. She was finally able to gain some distance that when she turned to look, Chris was nowhere to be seen, yet his voice was just as clear as if she was right next to him._

"_He needs you, Lia. Your brother needs you. Harry needs you. They all still need you!"_

_Lianna spun around, finding herself face to face with Chris as if he had been following her this whole time. Her eyes were burning with anger and she was panting. _

"_I don't care what they need. _I_ need freedom. I need space. I need to get away," angry tears flowed freely down her face, "I need _you_… I—I can't do this… any of this without _you_…"_

_Lianna collapsed onto the ground and cried like she hadn't cried in front of anyone else. After her parents' death she sobbed not fully comprehending why they wouldn't wake, but each loss after that she shed less tears; at her best friends' recent funerals she shed none at all. She had slowly broken, her spirit, her hope shattered into millions of fragmented pieces. She had perfected the art of hiding her emotions, yet here she was sobbing in front of an image in a dream. She sobbed for what seemed like hours until Chris gently lifted her chin. Chris smiled and touched her face. This time, his touch felt so real, as if she was being held by him once more. Lianna gazed into the vibrant green eyes she fell in love with, the same emerald tint that once belonged to her mother. _

"_I'm right here, Love. I've never left your side and I will never leave you, but you have to go on. You have pieces of me that I can only get back when we truly meet again. But for now, you have something to do."_

""_But—"_

"_Open your hand."_

_Lianna opened her hand and Chris placed his hand over it. Chris looked directly into her puffy, tear-stained eyes and beamed, making Lianna smile fully for the first time since the tragedy of Magic School a couple months ago. A gold light radiated between their hands. Chris removed his hand from Lianna's, revealing a small, but elegant crystal angel charm hanging on a thin silver chain. _

"_An angel," whispered Lianna._

"_A guardian angel," smiled Chris. "Wear this. It's another piece of me that I'm leaving with you for your journey. I expect that back when we see each other again. Remember? You gave me a similar charm when were just kids."_

_Lianna looked up. She had forgotten all about her mother's charm, her mother's angel. She had given him the angel when she found him crying in the playground because his parents were fighting. They became friends after that, bickering friends, but friends nonetheless. Lianna saw that Chris was wearing her mother's angel charm on his neck. _

"_I have my angel and now you have yours. When we see each other again we'll switch. Just say 'Yes.'"_

"_Yes…"_

* * *

As everyone filed out of Ron and Harry's now feather-filled room to start cleaning the other filthy rooms of Grimmauld Place at Mrs. Weasley's orders, Harry stopped at the threshold. Harry thought he had seen a shadow of a person down the hallway, near the Guardians' room through the corner of his eye. Harry looked more closely at the other trio's door and saw that it was slightly ajar.

_Hmm… maybe Lupin checked in on Lia, _thought Harry.

Harry was about to follow the rest of the Hogwarts students to an upstairs den as Mrs. Weasley commanded, but Harry turned to look at the door again and for a split second, he thought he saw a glimpse of a hand?

Harry was dumbfounded and removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. After making sure his already tainted vision was as clear as day, Harry headed towards the door while everyone else had already reached the upstairs den. Harry could hear the various protests from the Weasley siblings as he reached the doorway. Harry peeked in cautiously.

Lianna was lying on a huge bed, sleeping. She looked like she had been crying. Harry felt a strange pull to wipe away her tears, so he opened the door a little more and slipped inside. When Harry was inside he looked around the room, spotting various Black family heirlooms, a slightly open window, and a couple of pictures on the dresser mirror. There was a picture of a group of students in black robes, white collared blouses with a black tie and black bottoms. The group of students were laughing jovially and talking to each other. The next photo was of the same group but in this photo they were all clad in bathing suits and were settled at the beach. The first picture had the group in an almost prom-like stance with each person paired off, while the other photo had some girls on some of the boys' backs or messing around in the sand. Harry was leaning in to look at the photos better when he felt a gush of wind. Harry whirled around to see that the window was now open fully and at the corner of his eye he could see a bright light appear in one of Lianna's outstretched hand. Harry looked closer to see that a guardian angel necklace had appeared in Lianna's open hand, a necklace that he was sure was not there mere seconds ago. Harry glanced at Lianna's other hand, which was placed near her heart, and barely even noticed the small corner of the photo of the new family. Lianna had not moved since Harry had entered so how could the necklace been placed in the palm of Lianna's outstretched hand?

"Chris…" whispered Lianna in her sleep as tears fell from her slumbering eyes.

Harry was bewildered. _What just happened?_ he thought. A slight movement of the floorboards made Harry turn around and to his surprise found that the window was now shut.

"Harry?" called Hermione from somewhere upstairs.

Harry, still baffled, quickly slipped out of the room and gently closed the door, leaving Lianna in her deep slumber. But just as Harry closed the door a person appeared, almost like a ghost but very real indeed. The person looked at the sleeping young lady, saw the angel in her hand, whispered a spell and then looked at Lianna once more.

Deep blue eyes gazed at the young girl until the guardian angel glowed. Three words engraved themselves on the lily petals the angel sat on. Then, as quietly and as mysteriously as the person appeared, the blue-eyed individual disappeared.

The inscription read, "I'm here, Love."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**First off, I AM SOOOO SORRY IT HAS TAKEN ME SUCH A LONG TIME TO UPDATE! Life has finally settled a little bit but still busy =/ I'm trying to update at least 2 more chapters soon and I'm hoping to keep a steady flow of updates but we'll see**

**Secondly, I didn't realize that hadn't answered your reviews! so sorry! i'm such a newbie! But i will start answering your reviews and thanking each of you personally :)**

**Thirdly, THANK YOU FOR READING and REVIEWING! i really appreciate it! :D **


	9. Chapter 9: Her Choice

Chapter 9: Her Choice

Lianna sat alone in her room, holding a picture. She looked at the smiling faces looking up at her as the group of friends moved about the photo. _The good old times…_ she thought.

"Hey," said a gentle, familiar voice.

Lianna turned to see Remus Lupin standing at the doorway with a worried look about his face. She had not even heard the door open; perhaps she was too deep in thought to notice. Lianna looked at Remus and attempted to smile at her godfather, but her lips did not cooperate with her brain. Instead of a smile, her mouth contorted into an awkward smirk.

"It's alright darling," said Remus, chuckling slightly. "You needn't smile or anything, besides you look quite scary in the attempt."

At that, Lianna did smile, a true, genuine smile. Remus walked over to her and sat down. Lianna then placed her head on Remus's shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her. A perfect fit to an imperfect pair. They took comfort in each other's presence because in that empty room, they did not have to pretend. They could be normal. No walls and no insecurities.

"I wish I can take you away from all of this," whispered Remus.

"Me too but even when I was a child I couldn't escape this sense of duty and responsibility that was engraved in me before I was even born. We both tried to escape it all, but instead we were separated from one another— by choice, I know, and for each other's well being— but you were the only link to my 'life'… you were the only god-parent that mattered," said Lianna somewhat bitterly.

"She cares about you—"

"She sure has a fucked up way of showing it."

"Lianna!"

Lianna looked deep into the dark blue eyes of her godfather. She could still see the pain in his eyes and the thin glimmer of hope. Or was it love?

"You still care about her…" Remus looked at the young girl carefully. She wasn't asking. She had made a simple statement from a simple observation that made Remus somewhat cautious in his response.

"I'll always care about her… One cannot simply forget an individual you are still somewhat connected to, even though she chooses to forget it herself. She made her choice and I chose you."

Lianna smiled. Remus always knew what to say to make her calm down.

"I didn't mean what I said the other night—"

"Now I know nothing of what you speak of," said Remus thoughtfully. He understood. He always understands, though he isn't so understanding when it comes to himself.

"She means, Moony, when she baffled us both when she mentioned that we were unfit to understand her because all we ever do is worry."

Sirius Black strolled into the room, jokingly pointing a naughty finger at Lianna who in turn flicked it away. She laughed, a jovial laugh that hadn't been able to escape her mouth for weeks. Lianna hadn't felt so at home in months, but with Remus and Sirius she seemed to have found her bearings once more.

"I'm sorry," she said gently to the two men who were the only family she technically had.

"Apology accepted," replied Remus happily. Then the two looked up at Sirius both expecting him to also respond adequately.

"Well… you did save my life," smirked Sirius, gently tapping Lianna's nose. She smiled and got up to hug the infamous criminal.

"I had to return the favor," came the muffled response of Lianna as she buried her face in his chest.

* * *

"Alright, you lot. Time for supper," said Mrs. Weasley through the door of one of the dreary rooms in Grimmauld Place. The group of Hogwarts students leaped up eagerly from cleaning room number one of the many rooms in the Black house.

"Thank Merlin! I'm starving!" cried Ron while stretching his arms in the air.

"For heaven's sake, Ronald! You've only been in here for a couple of hours and lunch wasn't too long ago!"

Everyone filed out of the gloomy room and headed down to the kitchen quietly so not to awaken Mrs. Black's portrait. When they had arrived in the kitchen, Sirius, Lupin, Bill and Mr. Weasley were talking exasperatedly to one another. Apparently they had been talking about Harry because as soon as they saw the young lad, they beckoned him over while everyone else settled themselves on the table.

"Harry," started Mr. Weasley, "You're meeting about your use of magic will be held by the end of the week, but not to worry, you are not expelled."

Harry breathed in a sigh of relief.

"But there is still the slight problem of a… trial."

"Trial? But I—" said a now bewildered Harry.

"Don't worry, Harry. Dumbledore is on it. You should be fine," said Bill quickly, seeing Harry's panic.

"Then why do you lot look so worried? Isn't Dumbledore on the offs with the Ministry?"

"He is, but just because he is being discredited by the Ministry and the Prophet doesn't mean everyone believes the codswallop presented," conveyed Remus. "It's not you or Dumbledore we're concerned about."

Lupin set his sights on an annoyed Sirius.

"He's my godson, Remus! I should be there to support him! James would want me to! Besides, if it was Lianna you would do the same!"

"Yes, but _I_ am not a criminal on the run, Sirius!"

"No, you're just a werewolf in hiding! And I am a falsely convicted criminal on the run thank you very much!"

"This is absurd! Sirius, you will get caught!"

"No one will be able to recognize me as Snuffles!"

"Oh no, of course not. Harry will just have a huge black dog following him into the Ministry."

"Arthur will be accompanying us—"

"Sirius, think about your safety! And Harry's," cut in Bill hastily.

"But I will use extreme caution—"

"No," said Harry gently, but firmly. "I don't want to risk you getting caught Sirius. Please. Just stay here."

Sirius sighed heavily. He had lost. "Alright."

"Blimey Sirius! If we'd known you just needed Harry's say so we wouldn't have been arguing about this for the last hour!" giggled Mr. Weasley, making everyone chuckle. Even Sirius couldn't suppress a chuckle, although Harry could tell he was disappointed. Sirius had been just as frustrated with everything as Harry was; the only difference was that Harry was not a convicted criminal. Sirius was trapped, trapped like the prisoner that he was never meant to be. His only outlet was to do everything for his godson, but even that was too risky and Harry could not bear to lose him. Harry placed a comforting hand on Sirius' shoulder, while apologizing with his emerald eyes. Sirius smiled appreciatively, lightly tapping Harry's hand.

By that point, dinner was prepared and laid out for everyone. Chatter erupted with Fred and George whispering about Weasley Wizard Wheezes, Ginny and Hermione giggling at something, while everyone else started up a conversation about Quidditch. Mrs. Weasley on the other hand hovered about the room, continuing to prepare more food and keeping a close watch on everyone, especially Fred and George.

"I'm off, darling," said Mr. Weasley after finishing his meal. He walked over to his wife, kissed her sweetly on the cheek, and strolled out of Grimmauld Place.

After his departure, Mrs. Weasley stared at the kitchen door seemingly frozen. Worry was etched all over her face, but then again that look of endless anxiety had not left her face since the Dark Lord had returned. And who could blame Mrs. Weasley? Everyone was constantly in peril and yet the world still did not know of the Dark Lord's return. People were slowly disappearing and the Ministry of Magic was slowly being infiltrated. Danger and gloom was ever-present, yet the Ministry thought it best to discredit Dumbledore and paint Harry Potter as a loony rather than prevent the impending doom of Lord Voldemort.

"Mum?" said Ginny gently.

Mrs. Weasley snapped out of her daze and turned to her only daughter.

"Yes, dear. What is it?"

"Umm… you're making the soup boil over." Ginny pointed to the large pot of soup. It was bubbling immensely, making the fire beneath cackle from the splatters of liquid.

"Oh dear," cried Mrs. Weasley.

Bill, seeing his mother's distress, immediately got up to help clean up the mess and helped her cook the rest of the food, whispering quietly to one another. At that moment, Mad-Eye limped through the door with Tonks following behind.

"Hullo everyone!" announced Tonks as she walked in. Everyone responded with their own greetings while Mad-Eye just grunted his. He limped over to the table and smacked the Daily Prophet on the table.

"They've removed Dumbledore from the Wizengamot. Those cots have successfully taken away all his honors. Blithering idiots!" growled Moody vehemently. "And they're continuing to destroy Harry's own credibility in the press. The Ministry is defiling the truth on all sides and still more people are disappearing everyday!"

"They've also lost control over dementors according to Harry," relayed a disgusted Sirius, throwing aside another copy of the paper.

"This is going to make your trial somewhat difficult, Harry," said Bill through knitted eyebrows.

"But, don't' worry, Harry. Dumbledore is still very influential despite the Minister's efforts to label him a loon. Everything will be alright," said Remus comfortingly.

Harry smiled a grateful smile, but everyone could tell that he was afraid he would never be able to return to Hogwarts, let alone be able to do magic ever again.

_This is what I get for playing hero… again… And to Dudley no less! _Harry thought. _Damn you Dudley…_

"It'll be alright, Harry. You'll come back successful after your trial and then we'll be set to go back to Hogwarts in a couple of weeks," consoled Hermione as she held his hand.

"Don't sweat it, mate. Everything will be fine," added Ron.

Nods of agreement circled around the room, yet everyone remained silent. A pin drop could have been heard, if Mrs. Weasley hadn't brought out more food thus allowing everyone to do something other than stare at one another. Soon conversations broke out. Tonks began entertaining the Hogwarts students while the Order talked in whispers. Then suddenly a soft "ahem" came from the door and everyone turned to look. To their surprise, Lianna Stevens was standing there quietly observing the family atmosphere in the kitchen.

Lianna's demeanor was no longer harsh and warrior-like compared to the last time she showed face. There was something different, something softer about her, almost vulnerable. She had a nervous hand on a necklace that Harry witnessed magically appear as Lianna slept.

"Send word to Dumbledore. We all need to talk," remarked Lianna with purpose. "I'm— I'm not going anywhere. I'm right where I need to be."

With those words, Lianna looked directly into Harry's emerald eyes, knowing full well that it was all for him. Harry, on the other hand, didn't feel the relief that he thought or should feel. Instead, he felt a heavy knot fall in the pit of his stomach. He should feel grateful. Relieved. Happy, even. But all he could feel was worry and anxiety. Hermione and Ron were always his willing partners in crime even though he would give anything for their safety and protection. And now there were officially three more individuals to join their little group, to help provide more assurance and protection. So why the apprehension?

"I guess it officially starts here," whispered Hermione, who despite her confidence in their abilities was also concerned.

But regardless of the fear and the anxiety, her words said it all. The war against Voldemort began with the Order on the eve of his return, but the individual war between Harry and Lord Voldemort just became frighteningly more evident and real to all, especially the Golden Trio.

"Alright," said Mad-Eye. "We'll let Dumbledore know."

Sirius got up from his seat and whispered something in Lianna's ear as he embraced her tightly. Remus looked at the pair, half-proud, half-scared out of his mind, but he knew that it was her decision, her choice.

_So it begins_, he thought. Knowing full well that Lianna was never going to back down now, Remus Lupin smiled his proudest smile at the brightest light in his life.

* * *

_I Hope You Enjoy! Super short, I know. but the next chapter is coming soon! Thanx for Reading!_


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